Plebs eburnus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Plebs eburnus |
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The eastern grass orb-weaver (scientific name: Plebs eburnus) is a type of spider. People also call it the eastern bush orb-weaver or just the bush orb-weaver. This spider belongs to a group called orb-weaver spiders, which are known for building round, wheel-shaped webs.
You can only find Plebs eburnus in Australia. It's a very common spider. It has special white markings on its body. These markings can look a bit different on each spider. The name eburnus means "ivory," which refers to these white marks.
These spiders like to live in bushes and tall grasses. The female spider builds a web that stands up straight. This web is usually less than 2 metres (about 6.5 feet) off the ground. She stays on her web day and night. Sometimes, these spiders decorate their webs with a special silk pattern called a stabilimentum. For Plebs eburnus, this pattern often looks like the hands of a clock at 5 minutes to 5. A similar spider, P. cyphoxis, usually makes its stabilimentum straight up and down, like a clock at 6 o'clock.
What Does the Eastern Bush Orb-Weaver Look Like?
If you look at the underside of this spider's abdomen (its back part), you'll see a unique white U-shaped mark. There are also two white spots near its spinnerets. Spinnerets are the parts spiders use to spin silk. This special U-shape is a clue that it belongs to the Plebs group of spiders.
Like many spiders, the female Plebs eburnus is bigger than the male. Females are about 8 millimetres (about 0.3 inches) long. Males are smaller, only about 5 millimetres (about 0.2 inches) long.
How Scientists Named and Classified This Spider
The first time this spider was described by scientists was in 1886. A scientist named Eugen von Keyserling gave it the name Epeira eburna.
Over time, scientists learned more about spiders. So, this spider was moved to a different group called Araneus. Then, in 2012, scientists created a brand new group just for spiders like this one. They called this new group Plebs. That's how it got its current name, Plebs eburnus. This spider is closely related to another spider called the western bush orb-weaver, or P. cyphoxis.
Where Can You Find the Eastern Bush Orb-Weaver?
The Plebs eburnus spider lives in many parts of Australia. You can find it in:
- Queensland
- New South Wales
- Victoria
- Tasmania
- Australian Capital Territory
- South Australia
Sometimes, people have seen this spider in Western Australia, but it's not common there. In South Australia, the areas where Plebs eburnus lives overlap with the areas where P. cyphoxis lives.
