 | Orb Weaver Spider - Neoscona arabesca Family Araneidae (Orb Weavers) Live adult male and female spiders photographed in the wild at northern Illinois Insects & Spiders | Spider Pictures | Spider Index | Jumping Spiders | Beetles Index | Butterflies |
 Female, wrapping newly caught fly |
Orbweaver spiders get their common name from their large circular webs, constructed of concentric circles supported by radial spokes. Most orb webs are constructed in the vertical plane, but some spiders, i.e. the Venusta orchard (L. venusta) almost always spin in the horizontal, resting ventral side up underneath the disk (which makes the dorsal infuriatingly difficult to photograph in situ). Orbweavers are found worldwide, with with around 3500 species [1] in 168 genera [2]. Most people recognize these common spiders by the large, bulbous abdomen of the female, and the signature web, which can reach a meter in diameter. Orb weavers show the greatest range of sizes and appearance than any other family of sipders. Their presence near humans habitation and their conspicuous web probably account for their iconic status among people otherwise uninterested in such matters. Orb weavers are completely harmless to human and their pets. |
N. arabesca female size = 12mm.
This gal is eating her old web just before a thunderstorm; she is supported by a single strand of brand-new silk issuing from her main spinneret.
Male N. arabesca at Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania. Size = 8mm
| Smaller than females, males of this species don't build webs of their own; they are usually found out-and-about, looking for mates, or hanging around in far corners of a large female's web. In some species of orb weavers, e.g. Larinioides, males do regularly spin capture webs nearby the females. Larinioides males are also unusual among orb weavers in that they are almost as large and ornately patterned as the girls. |
Another male specimen demonstrates the species' wide variation in colors and marking
References
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