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New friend in Iowa
November 7, 2009
This little guy has taken up residence on our porch, is he doomed with the onset of winter just around the corner?
Worried
Granger Iowa
Marbled Orbweaver
Dear Worried,
We love your photo of a harmless Marbled Orbweaver, Araneus marmoreus. It is a highly variable species, and BugGuide illustrates the variety quite nicely.
What Spider is this
October 27, 2009
This spider eated his mate.
mr
Costa Mesa, CA
Orbweavers Mating
Dear mr,
We are uncertain what species of Orbweaver you have sent our way. We couldn’t even say for sure if this is an Araneus. Perhaps one of our readers can tell. Your photos are amazing. It isn’t unusual for female spiders to eat their mates.
Orbweaver eats her Mate
*Must see* – Garden spider laying eggs
October 16, 2009
North CarolinaThis garden spider is the only form of pest control we use in our veggie garden – we find a pest, and into the web it goes. My 5 year old loves to help too, he named her “yellow butt”. She was well fed enough this season to produce two egg sacs, the second of which I was able to get these great photos of. I checked in on her every 5 mins for an hour and watched her progress. These photos are of her attaching the eggs to the base, but before she has encased them all in silk.
Josh
North Carolina
Golden Orbweaver laying eggs
Hi Josh,
This spectacular species, Argiope aurantia, has numerous common names, and we prefer Golden Orbweaver. Your egg laying documentation is a wonderful addition to our website. Thanks for the contribution.
Golden Orbweaver laying eggs
Is it a Spider or a Beetle?
October 13, 2009
About 2cm long, less than 1cm at the widest part
KC
Salem Ohio
Arrowshaped Micrathena
Hi KC,
This is a spider known as the Arrowshaped Micrathena, Micrathena sagittata.
Orange and Green Spider
October 11, 2009
I found this spider ON MY 8 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER! I have seen similar spiders outside our home at night but without the green diamond on the body. I live in Miami, Florida, USA. Please identify this spider so I can either find an exterminator or leave my worries behind!
Cristi Cuadrado
Miami, Florida, USA
Orbweaver: Araneus detrimentosus
Hi Cristi,
We quickly identified your spider as Araneus detrimentosus, a harmless Orbweaver, on BugGuide. While we would hesitate to claim that this spider will never bite, we have not gotten any reports of anyone being bitten by a member of the genus Araneus. If the spider was on your daughter, it was undoubtedly a chance encounter. We would not trouble with an exterminator in this instance, and we truly believe that exposure to pesticides at a tender age would be far more detrimental to your daughter than facing the extremely unlikely odds that this spider, which is not very well represented in images and is probably not terribly common, will bite your daughter or a member of the family.
Spined Micrathena
October 6, 2009
Dearest Bugman,
I just wanted to share a photo of this fashionable spider I found at my friend’s grandmother’s house on 8/16/09. I’m pretty sure it’s a Spined Micrathena.
shutterbug
Celina, OH
Spined Micrathena
Hi shutterbug,
Thanks for sending us your photo of a Spined Micrathena. We posted an image earlier today, and it is very nice to have another recent example for comparison.
Black horned spider
October 6, 2009
This beauty is spinning away in my side yard. She has a preportionally huge black abdomen with horns and light colored markings on it. The underside is cone-shaped and ridged.
Jennnifer In Nyack
Nyack, NY
Spined Micrathena
Dear Jennifer,
Your spider is a Spined Micrathena, Micrathena gracilis, a harmless Spiny Orbweaver.
Golden Orb Weaver?
September 24, 2009
I just found this beautiful spider (about three inches long including the legs)… s/he built a web in the mint in my front yard. Am I right in guessing this is a golden orb weaver?
Heather in IN
Bloomington, IN
Banded Garden Spider
Hi Heather,
Your spider is not a Golden Orbweaver, but another species in the same genus, the Banded Garden Spider.
Green Spider, Red and White Patterned Back
September 25, 2009
Hi there! Found this beauty on my porch in July 2009 in Southern NJ. Haven’t seen him before or since. Pattern is really cool, haven’t been able to find anything about him here or online.
MYP in NJ
Southern NJ
Araneus cingulatus
Dear MYP,
It is quite unfortunate that this lovely green Orbweaver, Araneus cingulatus, does not have a common name. You can see additional images on BugGuide.
Golden Silk Spider from Mexico
September 25, 2009
Hi!
I just moved to a new house and it’s not on downtown so there’s a lot of vegetation and bugs.. I have found lots of this spiders and browsing your site i get to the conlusion that’s a Nephila clavipes, am i right? hehe well, I have my sister and my newborn nephew living with us and i want to know if this spider can be a danger for the little baby.. I never found one of this inside the house, they’re always in their spiderweb and I must say: That’s a strong spiderweb!! … I killed 2 of this on my garden the day I moved in but on an impulse of fear (you know, i’m not familiar with insects)… now.. if they’re not dangerous maybe i can live with that … because a new one showed up today and his web is amazing and I don’t want to kill her (it’s a female, right?) and excuse me for being such a coward, but my sister was very very scared of this
Guillermo Medina
Fortin, Veracruz, Mexico (Gulf of mexico)
Golden Silk Spider
Hola Guillermo,
Your identification is correct, and you have nothing to fear regarding the Golden Silk Spider. They are harmless to humans, but they will help to control flying insects that might be a problem, like mosquitoes and biting flies. We would encourage you to educate your sister and to live in harmony with these beautiful spiders. Yes, their webs are incredibly strong.
Cool article: cloth spun from spider’s silk
September 23, 2009
Hi WTB–
I thought you might enjoy this article–beautiful cloth woven from silk that was harvested from orb weaver spiders.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/09/spider-silk/
JJR
Dear JJR,
We should have some very old postings in our archive on textiles woven from the silk of the Golden Silk Spiders in the genus Nephila. Thanks for the awesome link.
6 yr old bug scientist needs your help again
September 21, 2009
Hi,
Earlier this summer, you helped us identify a silver argiope orb weaver that we found outside my son’s school. Since then, he’s found a Golden Orb Weaver in our back yard that we identified by using your sight. Over the weekend, she suddenly disappeared for a couple of days and we wondered what happened to her. Well, this morning, we found out. She was back – and with a very large egg sac.
I’ve attached pictures of her both before and after the egg sac appeared.
My son would like to know if you have any idea how many baby spiders we can expect and how long it will take them to hatch. Also – will the mommy spider survive this process?
Thanks for your help!
P.S. I tried to send this earlier today, but got an error message and couldn’t tell if it went through so if you get it twice, I apologize.
Mom of future “bug guy”
Aliso Viejo, CA
Golden Orbweaver with Egg Sac
Dear Mom of future “bug guy”,
Several hundred spiderlings will emerge from this Golden Orbweavers Egg Sac, probably between 200 and 500. Since you live where there is a mild climate, they mother spider might survive to see her spiderlings emerge, but in harsher climates, the Egg Sac will overwinter and the mother will die. When the spiderlings emerge, they will balloon away on the wind on silken threads to disperse whichever way the wind blows. They can travel quite far on the wind.
