Sunday, October 30, 2011

Spider Sunday: Cat-faced Spider

Here in the western United States, one of the most common orb weavers is the Cat-faced Spider, Araneus gemmoides. I do not find them to be that conspicuous, however, because the spiders hide in their retreats by day, emerging only at night to sit in the hub of their spiral snares.

This species is known in parts of Canada as the “Jewel Spider,” but its more common name of “Cat-faced Spider” is more descriptive. Araneus gemmoides is one of the angulate orb weavers that often sport a pair of conical humps near the front of the top of the abdomen. These “horns” mark the “ears” of the cat face, with variable markings on the abdomen reinforcing the feline moniker.

One variation, the “Cheshire Cat-faced Spider,” has only a smiley-face….Ok, I’m making things up now, but the pattern of markings is highly variable in this species. One reasonably consistent mark is a short, white vertical stripe on the front edge of the abdomen, usually crossed by two white chevrons.

Mature females are large spiders, especially when gravid, their abdomen full of eggs. They vary in body length from 13-25 mm. Males, in contrast, are a mere 5-8 mm as adults.

Cat-faced Spiders spin rather small webs in proportion to their body size, the prey-catching zone spanning maybe one foot or so, even if the foundation lines of the snare may stretch several feet between anchor points. The occupant invariably sequesters herself in a curled leaf or other retreat by day, sometimes still monitoring the web via a signal line running from her retreat to the hub.

As darkness falls, the spider emerges to repair its web, or simply spin a new one, after which she may settle in the center of the web, head down, to await potential prey.

In optimal situations, several individual spiders may spin their webs in close proximity. My friend Margarethe Brummermann showed me a small group of these spiders that occupied a cliff face in Peppersauce Canyon on the north side of the Santa Catalina Mountains in southern Arizona. Much attention is paid to the fact that A. gemmoides will spin its webs on or about homes and other buildings, but they are likely taking advantage of outdoor lighting that attracts large numbers of insects within range of their webs.

Females apparently spin only one egg sac in late autumn. The spiderlings emerge the following spring and disperse. Young spiders have exaggerated humps on their abdomen, like the one shown below. Perhaps they have to “grow into them.”

The Cat-faced Spider ranges from British Columbia and Saskatchewan east to Michigan and south through the Dakotas, Rocky Mountains, and Pacific states to Arizona. Look for mature individuals in late summer and throughout the fall.

192 comments:

  1. I live in north Idaho. For years I've noticed cat spiders that off and on make their webs and live beneath the covering of our deck. Recently, for the past few weeks we've had one particular cat spider occupying the post and rail of our covered deck. Yesterday I noticed his/her web looked a bit damaged in need of repair. I found an ant and tossed it into the web. The spider ran out immediately and started its process of wrapping a cocoon around the ant. This morning I came outside and upon inspecting the spider I noticed he was gone! Not a trace of where he was exists. Not even a shred of his web remained. This strikes me as odd since before I've never noticed a cat spider just up and leave like that. I'm wondering why since he's had it made right where he was..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing your observations. I wish I could tell you what happened. I do know that once they become mature, *male* orbweavers cease to spin a web and simply go looking for females until they die. Apparently, with the last molt, they even lose the *ability* to spin webs.

      Delete
    2. I have a beautiful female cat faced spider in our back porch lean to. She dissapeared for a day or so but came back. I think she was there all along but was getting ready to re-spin her web. They tend to take it down periodically to make a new one. She has a gentleman caller in her web with her today and he has been in there since yesterday. Not sure how long it takes? Anyways, they are just wonderful to watch and learn about.

      Delete
    3. Thank you for sharing your observations, Amie! I'm not sure how long it takes for a male to "make his move," either :-)

      Delete
    4. I live in Eastern Idaho, and we have two large female cat face spiders. They are up under the edge of the roof and have webs anchored all the way down to the ground. I thought one up and left, but she only relocated to a more sheltered spot. One afternoon right before a thunderstorm, they both quickly gathered up their goods, and brought them up to their hiding spots. So fun to watch. I always leave the porch light on to bring them a little extra food. In the spring we have seen the egg sacks hatch. So many baby spiders!!! Thanks and love this blog!

      Delete
    5. Thank you for the kind compliment; but thank you most for sharing your observations and story! *That* is the kind of thing *I* love.

      Delete
    6. Cat face spiders will often consume their web and rebuild it, either in the same place, or move to a different location. Sometimes they move to a place where they feel more secure, or somewhere with better hunting. They don't move long distances as adults.

      A good possibility is that your spider needed to molt. They are vulnerable during this time and like to do so in whatever crevice they hide in during the day. (I know this is old, but wanted to share)

      Delete
    7. I have a sever case of arachnaphobia I will not hurt the spider as i find it beautiful but creepy at the same time

      Delete
    8. What do cat faced spider slings eat

      Delete
    9. Like most spiders, flies, moths etc.

      Delete
    10. Ive noticed with the cat spiders in my yard that if they come into contact with ants in there web they find ants threatening so they pack up and leave.

      Delete
    11. I live in Montana had a gorgeous cat faced spider on my porch last fall. I named her Miss Kitty and gladly ducked under her enormous web to sit on the porch with her. Winter hit hard and cold and I checked on her every day only to find her dead, frozen to the porch. I was really shaken by this and wondered why her instincts didn’t lead her to a warmer spot. I have since read that she might have had babies and lived her full life.
      This year a smaller female has returned. Not a very big web and we are in the middle of a frigid storm. How do I protect her?? I’m sick thinking she may be found frozen one morning as well.
      Thank you!

      Delete
    12. Anonymous in Montana....I do not recommend intervention, though I commend your empathy for our arachnid friends. They have adapted to survive as individuals and/or by generations. Please take comfort in that. Take care.

      Delete
  2. Where do they go/ what do they do in the harsh, cold winter? There's one on my house - been there most of the summer. I don't mind her out there, but I don't want her coming inside!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Erin. Don't worry, the adult spiders die with the first hard freeze. The next generation overwinters in the egg sacs laid by the females. They do not make those egg sacs indoors.

      Delete
    2. I don't want mine to die. Can I keep her inside for the winter and 'grow' her?

      Delete
    3. KW: I would probably discourage you from following that impulse. Sometimes we can "love animals to death." She'll have a better life, even if it is a slightly shorter one, outdoors. Putting any wild animal into captivity causes it great stress, at least in the short run, but some individuals never recover from the trauma at all.

      Delete
    4. I have a serious question for you then sir; I have one of these spiders that I caught indoors. Put it in a container and put a book over it. I forgot about it, and now on the bottom of that book covering the container is a large egg sack. What can I do without killing it? How long would it take them to hatch if kept indoors over winter?

      Delete
    5. Please forgive me for getting a chuckle out of your story....You should have until next May or June before the spiderlings emerge (assuming mom was fertile, as they will lay eggs regardless before they die). I would suggest keeping the book out in the garage or a shed or something if you are concerned about an indoor emergence. I have learned just about *anything* is possible in the invertebrate world. Happy holidays!

      Delete
    6. I've kept mine in a container for about a month he has eaten 3 grasshoppers Anda ladybug that I didn't put in there started building its web horizontally not vertically its pretty cool

      Delete
  3. I didn't know that this spider even existed until one of my friends posted a picture of it on Facebook, wanting to know what it was. A Google search led me here and the pictures are pretty cool. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for appreciating what I do, Melissa!

      Delete
    2. I have a beautiful cat-faced spider on my porch. It started as a a very tiny spider and i got to watch her grow. I started to get worried cause she seemed to be sick and would not move much. Just stayed curled up where she sleeps during the day. It had been so hot with no rain for weeks. I sprayed mist on her. I was worried she was getting dehydrated. She also seems to be turning a brighter orange and her sac is getting smaller. There is also a spider with only legs in her web. Its her kind. Is she going to be ok and is that the males skelaton in her web. I really want her to have babies cause she is so cool and kinda my pet.

      Delete
    3. I'm sure you've maybe learned your answer by the time of this response. But she molted, it's how they grow. She will be very quiet for a while before the molt. Hopefully you found that she was fine.

      Delete
  4. There is a cat-faced spider on the outside of one of my windows and I was wondering if they are poisonous?

    ReplyDelete
  5. We have one of these beauties on our front porch.My teenaged son has been feeding it for the last few weeks. He is wondering if ,before the 1 st hard freeze he could catch it and put it in a terrarium ...would it survive? I told him I would check around to see if this was an option....any info/ advice is greatly appreciated

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barilyn: She probably wouldn't last much longer regardless of whether you had her in captivity, but I've never tried that myself. You might be better off addressing this question to the Arachnoboards forum, or InsectGeeks.com. Those communities are full of folks with years of experience in breeding spiders and other arachnids. Good luck.

      Delete
  6. We have had a cat face spider in the house all year long. It's a little bit intimidating to see it sitting on the counter every now and then. How often do spiders need to eat? Should I go buy some crickets/bugs and feed it? I don't want it to starve.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Christi. Don't worry, spiders are built to go long periods without eating. Weeks, even months, can go by with no ill effects on the spider. Further, spiders *do* have a finite lifespan, no matter how attached we get to them. Pat yourself on the back for simply caring!

      Delete
    2. hi my name is jacob i was wondering how long they live up to and what do they eat like what i should give them daily

      Delete
    3. I need the information of its niche, life spand, and its symbiotic relashionship

      Delete
  7. We have had a mama spider above our patio door since fall and I watched her everyday and made sure she was still there and then sadly one day she disappeared. I knew it was going to happen but still. Anyways now that it is spring the only thing I have noticed about the nest is it has little white spots and im not sure if those are the babies or the eggs. Will I noticed if they hatch? anyone have any ideas if they are eggs and how will the nest change once they hatch?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Heidi. Without seeing the egg sac ("nest"), it is difficult for me to draw any kind of conclusions....but when orbweaver spiderlings emerge, they stick together for a bit near the egg sac. They will be big enough to recognize as spiders and not eggs. They will also move around, eventually dispersing to "balloon" to far-flung destinations.

      Delete
  8. I've had a large female cat-faced spider living on my porch with her beautiful web. By day she hides under the edge of a rock on the railing. I've been enjoying observing her feed (yes, some of those meals were tossed into the web) and spin new webs every few days. Three days ago her web was gone and she was under the other side of the rock. Yesterday she disappeared. I've never seen one disappear like that before. Do they just up and relocate?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They *can* up and relocate, but she may simply have exhausted her lifespan. If the web location was profitable in catching prey, she would need not relocate I would think.

      Delete
  9. Hi Bug Eric,
    My name is Laurie. I love Cat face spiders. I love it when I find them around my house and do what I can to protect them. The first time I found one on my porch I watched it all summer. Occasionally tossing a grass hopper in it's web. What I noticed that summer is I didn't have any other bugs around my porch. From that point on I was a fan. I loved her web. It was absolutely spectacular. I try to educate people about these incredible little spiders. So they aren't afraid of them. Especially kids! This year I have several around my house. It's been fun teaching my grand kids about them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing your experience, Laurie!

      Delete
  10. Do cat faces put their egg sacs in the middle of their web?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Excellent question! No, these orbweavers generally adhere their egg sacs to an object on the periphery of their webs.

      Delete
  11. I've been watching a large female cat face spider near my front porch. She's always been alone until last night, when a mini-me version was in the far edge of her web. Later, they were right next to each other playing what appeared to be patty-cake. Later, the mini-me disappeared. Do you think they were mating and then she killed him?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Probably courtship at least. There would be a dead spider in her web if she had killed him.

      Delete
  12. HI I had a huge cat faced spider outside my window. It would hide in the corner during day n by night it would be in the middle of its huge web. Well after a few weeks I had to move and so I thought I'd take it with me n I captured it and am wondering how I would take care of it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Josh: Are you able to release her outdoors? That would be the best option. If not, setting her up in large, vertical terrarium would work if you had a couple of long sticks you could cross that would serve as a frame for her web. Virtually any insect could be tossed in periodically for her to eat. If you are simply talking about the time it takes to transport her, she should be fine. Spiders are built to fast for long periods (easily a week or two), and don't run out of oxygen very quickly in a small container. They *do* need water, which can be furnished in a soaked half cottonball.

      Delete
  13. I have a sweet girl in my little garden...we named her Cecelia after Cecil the African lion we sadly lost earlier this year...seemed appropriate :) I love this beautiful creature and want to give her the longest life possible. I assume the are our "Charlotte" and away they drift and new Kitten faces appear. Can we do something to prolong her life? How can we encourage the new ones to stick around?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love this sweet story! There really isn't much you can do to prolong her life, but if she found your yard and garden to be hospitable, then there is no reason why her children won't, either. I'd just let nature take its course. You're already doing more than the average person. :-)

      Delete
  14. We have a gorgeous female above our front porch whom we call Charlotte simply because her web is so much like the storybook one. I am normally terrified of spiders but she has been there since June when we first moved in and my entire family has become quite attached to her. We have an 11, 3 and one year old and I think she's such an amazing learning experience for them. She's in an ideal spot just above a bush that attracts tons of honey bees and near our porch light that has constant moth traffic. I stumbled across your blog while googling the lifespan of the cat spider. I have to admit I may shed a few tears when she's gone and now I'll make it a point to try to spot an egg sac. My husband and I thought we saw and intruder spider a month or so ago but now I believe it was a male. If you would have told me a year ago how invested I'd be in a spider, I'd tell you that you are crazy haha! She's beautiful and I wish there was a way for me to post her photo. We've taken several. We are east of Denver.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing your story! If you can post your images elsewhere, and then include a link, I'll publish *that* comment here, too.

      Delete
  15. Please help! What do they eat? Crickets ants? I saved one and I want it to live thru the winter but I don't know what to feed it. Alive or dead bugs??? Save paco (I named it paco)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do not recommend intervening in natural processes of life and death, but....Orbweavers prey on live insects, but not ants. A cricket thrown in the web every week or two (they do *not* need to eat daily, or even weekly, really) should suffice. Your spider is likely a "she," too. :-)

      Delete
  16. Hi, we have what I think is another cat faced spider on our front porch wall here in Colorado Springs. I posted a picture at https://www.facebook.com/dan.wilson.33865?fref=tl_fr_box&pnref=lhc.friends
    on facebook. Hope that works. Enjoyed your site here. Dan Wilson

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The image cannot be seen by anyone other than your Facebook "friends," but thank you for trying! Thanks for the compliments, too.

      Delete
  17. Is it true that catface are not only good for keeping bug populations down but having them around your home will also keep the populations of other (potentially dangerous) spider species controlled as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The webs of orbweavers in general are designed to catch flying and jumping insects, not other spiders.

      Delete
  18. I have a large female that has been at my house for most of the summer. Are their life spans just one year, or will she hang around longer if she doesn't have an egg sac this year? Thanks for the help. Her name is Bob (even though I know she is female) but me and my kitty cat both love to watch her. If they do only have a one year life span, how do they get so large so quickly? Mine is a mighty big spider. thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You don't mention where you live, but, generally speaking, orbweavers live only about a year. They don't get big *that* quickly, we simply notice them more at this time of year when leaves fall, and the webs become more conspicuous. Also, larger spiders usually get the best "web sites," so to speak. In southerly latitudes, the spiders persist longer because there is a later killing frost.

      Delete
    2. Hi, i recently moved from California to Idaho. And i hate spiders... i HATE them. And one day this monster appeared in front of our garage. You can see it as soon as you pull into the driveway. My mom told me to leave it. Well i came to realize that she made a very clever web system and little hideout. And i started appreciating the fact that she kept to herself and stayed outside and didnt try to come in like other spiders and i thought it was rather majestic to look at her. I would watch her take down and rebuild her web, hang out in her little funnel during the day and center of her web at night. I threw a giant moth in her web and she capyured it, "i was freaking out" i dont like moths either... well as the time went by i started to give her giant moths every night and talking to her. I started trusting her and i like to think she trusted me too because she just watched me when i came close and if a friend came up to her web she would curl up or run back to her cave. I even came to touch Her back TWICE. She loved giant moths, one night she had two that i gave her and she wrapped them together. I did lots of research on cat faced spiders and named her Arabella. All of my friends thought i went insane because they know how much i dislike spiders. So i realized they make their egg sacks and die. So i decided i was going to save her egg sack to help me cope with her death by seeing her babies. The cat faced spider in the back of the house made an egg sack and watched it for a day and disappeared. I wondered where she had gone to die. I couldnt wait until my Arabella made an eggsack but all the other spiders alreafy finished theirs and she hadnt. I thought she would be the first because she was the biggest!!! I figueed if she didnt make a sack i would just take her body and have a little funeral for her or at least say goodbye. The first cold came a few days ago and sge wasnt pating much attention to her web and she wasnt hooked onto it with a string to feel the vibrations with one hand like usual. So i thought she was dead, i touched her and she moved one foot so she was still alice, i thought maybe shes getting ready to make a sack so i left her. Next day same thing... and then the 3rd day my mom told me she was gone... her web and home completely in tact and she was just gone...

      Now here is where i am confused.... to disappear like that, does it just mean her time was over or could it have been something else... and if her time was over where do they go to die? Because the one out back disappeared too. And my final concern, why didnt she make an egg sack? She had the best spot around the house, She has the best web system compared to the other catfaced spiders, She seemed very happy, And she was the biggest. She was HUGE.... so why not make an egg sack? Did the cold sneak up on her??? All the other spiders made theirs.

      Delete
    3. Thank you for sharing your story, Andi. I wish I had answers for you, but I really don't. Much of spider life remains a mystery to us, and certainly individual spiders face unique circumstances. She may well have mated and reproduced, but done so somewhere else. Perhaps a male never found her. Hard to say. In any event, she certainly accomplished something wonderful: helping you get over a phobia. Thanks again for sharing this.

      Delete
    4. I made mine bob too!!!

      Delete
  19. We have a lovely female above our back door. She is about the size of the tip of my thumb (the whole area of my fingernail.) I wouldn't let my husband put up the gutter above the door, because I didn't want to disturb her.Noe that the snow is coming, I will be sorry to see her go, but at least the husband can put up the gutter. By the way, I am in Reno, NV, and we got our first snow today.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi I live in Denver and have one that has made its home under a lamp post and connects it to a tree near by. We have had so much fun watching her starting in August. It has now snowed a few times and she is still under the lamp post. Was wondering if she is still alive or if she has passed and her body is just still there. She has not made a web in weeks. I think she is one of the coolest spiders I have ever seen. Thanks for h having a post. Karen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for sharing this, Karen! Your spider is potentially still alive, but she will eventually perish after a hard frost or two. Their durability amazes me, too. Happy Holidays to you, hope you find her offspring *next* fall. :-)

      Delete
  21. I have sponsored spiders for the last two years by feeding them flies because it is fun to watch. The one from this year lived on the inside of my bathroom window and made a nest in the upper corner of the room. After laying the eggs she got so much smaller and just sat on top of the nest from like November 7-10. I thought she was dead and she left her body like that to look scary to anyone of anything that might have messed with the nest but now she is back up and going for the last couple days! Honestly i had hoped she had passed so i could insulate the window more but she is back and kicking with, actually, a bit of an attitude! She gets all pissy if I go in the room now and makes aggressive body language with her legs ( I guess anyone is entitled to act out a little after giving birth to hundreds of baby eggs, but...). I have no intention of hurting her or the egg sac till it hatches, but will she die soon? Or could she last all winter in the warmth? What is the longest she might linger? They are sooo cool.
    ~Paul, Ft. Collins Co.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those are very good questions, Paul. Not really sure I have an answer. There is much variation in outcome given differences in an individual spider's genetic "fitness," how well insulated it is from the cold, access to food, etc, etc. They don't live forever, though! I would be surprised if she survived to Thanksgiving, but....

      Delete
  22. We've had a cat-faced spider living in our bushes outside all summer. As it's gotten colder and colder (we live in Colorado Springs) she has slowed down a lot. I read that if she is really big it means she has an egg sac and should lay it by late fall. She's still huge and I don't see an egg sac anywhere near her. I'm not really a spider person as I freak out and scream when I see them but I absolutely adore this cat-faced spider. I've anchored and umbrella over the bushes and then when we got our first tiny snow I cover her even further by zip-tying a sheet over the whole bush to protect her. I still don't see an egg sac. She's gotten very slow and stopped weaving her web (she likes to redo it a lot). I want to bring her inside in a glass aquarium. I need real advice about if I should do this or not. We are in a blizzard warning and snow is falling. I just went out to check on her and she's moving around way more than she has recently. I'm worried about her but don't want to disrupt her if she may still lay her egg sac. Would she still be really big if she had laid her sac already and I just didn't notice it? Please, any advice would be greatly appreciated. She's so pretty and I have to admit that I have actually petted her back on many occasions (just couldn't resist). Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am realistic in that I know she won't live forever but I don't want to see her pass away before she has a chance to lay her eggs.

    Thank you,
    Christy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am very encouraged by the affection for spiders that so many of you have shown here, but what spiders need most is to be left alone. They are more durable than we give them credit for, and natural cycles of life and death need to happen without our intervention. That means we don't kill them, or otherwise interfere in their daily lives. Thank you again for your appreciation of our arachnid friends.

      Delete
  23. All this summer I enjoyed having a female cat-faced spider just outside my front door. She built her web under the railing for my steps and hid during the day under a large rock on the rail. She disappeared for about 4 days after she completely removed her web. I realized she had molted (shed?) when I found it. She left behind an egg sack underneath a rock on my steps. I need to move it before we get snow, but I'm not sure where to put it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would honor the spider's decision of where she put her eggs. I would not bother moving it. You could actually do more damage that way.

      Delete
  24. Hi! I am so happy to have found your blog. I have a problem I'm hoping you can help me with. My aunt lives in Durango, CO and has had a female cat spider on her porch all summer. As the weather got colder she worried for her and she placed her in an indoor terrarium. Afterwards I did some research and found the eggs survived the winter and the female died shortly after laying them we became concerned about what was going to happen as her abdomen was very swollen. Well, she laid her eggs! Do you know if they will stay dormant all winter? Or will they mature more quickly because of the warmer temperature indoors? Will the female still perish? And best yet, what should my aunt do with the eggs?! I was thinking she place the whole terrarium outside once the female dies (if she does) but wanted to ask your opinion first. Thank you for all of your insight on these amazing creatures!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am getting overwhelmed with comments on this thread....Thank you for sharing your experience, and for the compliments on the blog....I agree the terrarium needs to go outside come spring. Might be best to overwinter it in the garage or a shed, but with exposure to natural changes in day length. That, more than temperature, governs metamorphosis in most arthropods.

      Delete
  25. Nancy, out cat faced spider, set up house in our porch in August. I fell in love! In early November the night turned snowy & blutery & would freeze so I brought her in and set up a habitat for her. I assumed she would still perish, but not freeze. To my surprise, she adjusted well & seemed to thrive. I fed her tiny crickets and supplied water. Last weekend she laid eggs--I was so surprised! According to research, I was prepared for her to die soon after. In the process of laying her eggs, her cat face seemed to explode & she looked like a different spider. She didn't die and has spent her days working on the babies nest. Imagine my surprise when this morning she had a new, tiny cat face appearing on her back and is more active than ever. I was planning to put her eggs under our deck and cover them with leaves so they would hatch in the winter. I don't know what to do now! Help! Also, is this the miracle I am assuming it is? I am blown away!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing your story. I would overwinter spider, egg sac(s) in the "habitat" in the garage or a shed, and then let nature take its course. Put the habitat back outside in the spring so that the hatching spiderlings can escape.

      Delete
  26. Is this a cat spider?https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7FyiXPYyhTMX3R4MHNYSXNGWjg/view?usp=docslist_api

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, it is not. Resembles the "Cross Orb Weaver," Araneus diadematus, but without knowing the geographic location where the image was taken, I can't be certain.

      Delete
  27. Hi Eric. I had a beautiful very large cat spider that lived near my drainage pipe last summer/fall. As you have noted above, she seems to have disappeared with the first snow. I was out cleaning my porch today, and swept out a crevice on one of my sliding glass doors. I had a sticky white substance stick to the broom. In looking closely at this I fear I inadvertently disturbed her egg sac. I can see the tiny spiders, but no movement from them. Is there anything I can do to help them, or have I killed them by disturbing them? I live in New Mexico, and it has been warm here with no frost for over a month. Any help you have would be great, I loved having her last year and would be happy to have another this year. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not sure that anything can be done now, but if you could just leave the broom outdoors but in a protected spot, the spiderlings might recover and disperse. "Playing dead" is a favorite spider defense strategy. :-)

      Delete
  28. I removed the broom head and placed it in a small open ended box near where the egg sac originally was. Is it better to leave it in the box or should I leave it in the open? Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you did great, just leave it in the box. The spiderlings can easily find their way out when they are ready. :-)

      Delete
  29. Hi, all;
    Here in Colorado Springs, (Garden Ranch)our spider's egg sac is still in place next to our front door, looks the same as last fall. Is there any way to predict when they may begin hatching out? And how long does that process take on average? Would love to observe. dan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Excellent question. Emergence from egg sacs here in Colorado generally starts happening after the last possibility for a killing frost. I have one image of Cat-faced spiderlings taken on May 22, 2012, so I'd say probably after mid-May?

      Delete
    2. Hi, guys 😺 we have a seemingly immature female, very small lil lady, her body length with front legs tucked long is only a half inch. I rescued her from my inside van and brought to a plant in a window that I knew had fungus gnats. She loves her spot. I am super shocked at her size and this time of year that she made an eggsac, but ahe did and now my sweet man is trippin because he does not want a hatching in the house. Bless his heart. So, my questions 1-Do they ever lay sacs that are not fertilized?
      2-How long til it hatches?
      3-Will the babies instinctively go out the window to bloom or will they try to stay inside?
      4-how many typically remain after they eat each other once out of the sac?

      I am so gratefulto have found this thread. Hope people are still on it with some insight sonI can appease the mind of my housemate with a gameplan ;-)

      Delete
    3. We live in northern Arizona near Sedona.

      Delete
    4. Yes, females may lay unfertilized eggs....but, you can't take your plant outside for the egg sac to hatch there next spring? As long as the sac is exposed to natural changes in day length, there is little danger of the spiderlings hatching prematurely. Also, they stay grouped together for a time before they disperse. So, you have time to take them outside anyway. Seriously, as long as you are observant, there is basically zero chance of them becoming indoor residents.

      Delete
  30. Just had to share- I am so excited the babies appeared this evening!! They're adorable- the size of a pin head and now discovering their new surroundings. I had 7 or 8 adults (that I knew of) last summer. These guys came from a huge mom that posted up near my trash cans. So happy to have them here! (I'm going to add that I have NEVER liked spiders until these fun guys came into my life a couple of years ago. I still don't like other spiders much haha these ones are special).

    ReplyDelete
  31. Found a lovely lady on my porch last night. The last time we had one was about 5 years ago. I named her Claire. I've really enjoyed this post and the comments on it!
    My dad had one many years ago when I was just a little girl that he used to feed. It took 30 years before I saw another one! Even though I have a definite spider phobia, I do enjoy these spiders.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I was searching for spiders indigenous to Colorado, when I ran across your blog. I too have a terrible fear of ALL spiders and decided to research what are the GOOD ones to have around. Ever since I first saw a cat faced spider (I had no idea that was their name!) a few years back, on my deck, I was adamant that she be left alone. My kids thought I'd lost my mind at first (unfortunately I passed my 'arachnophobia' on to them.) They honoured my wishes, and left her alone. Then they too began to go sit and watch her as she did her thing. She'd come out when we were up watching her, and either work on her web, or simply sit in the middle of the web and watch us back! We had no idea what happened to her when one day, she was just gone...we've had at least one of these each year since then, and they find our front porch, (that's enclosed, but not sealed) the perfect place for fine dining, spider style! They really do 'clean-up' whatever area they inhabit. We now have our 'first' cat face of the year in the exact same spot as all the others had. I'm curious, do the babies tend to stay around the area their predecessors inhabitated, or would these have 'blown in' from elsewhere? I'm so happy I found your site, as I couldn't describe this spider in a web search, so when I saw your blog, I was thrilled to see such a cool name for this 'pet' of ours!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a wonderful story! You just made my day....Most spider offspring disperse as spiderlings by "ballooning" as I see you know already. A few may hang around to take over the territory vacated by their mothers.

      Delete
  33. Fascinating creatures, although I have to say I don't think I'd want to get too close!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Eric,

    I found a cat-face next to my patio door and moved her to a bush near by after feeding her a few mill worms. Her web isn't in a very good location for catching anything but nats, so I have been feeding her bugs as I come across them. Her abdomen is huge. Being that it is fall, she is probably close to prepping her sac. My question is, I have fallen in love with my little friend, how long do they live? Is it true they die after laying their eggs? If I could extend her life bringing her indoors during the cold months and letting go again in the spring I would certainly consider that option. Also, can you post a picture of their egg sacs? If she will die after laying her eggs, I would like to identify where she left her egg sac so I can watch for them in the spring. Let me know your thoughts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I appreciate your sentiments, Starbuck, but I don't recommend intervening. Yes, females generally perish after laying an egg sac. I have never seen an egg sac of one of these and wonder if they do not conceal them well away from the web. They are probably fluffy, yellow wads of silk about the size of a dime, adhered to a flat surface, but I am guessing a little.

      Delete
  35. We have one that set up home on a beam on the kitchen ceiling. It was anchored to the freezer door so I we were careful opening the door for a night. Next morning, the web ess completely cleaned up and moved a couple feet over, he or she was blowing in the breeze if the a.c. vent! Ha! So cute. It was a baby, very short legs. This was a couple months ago and a few days ago we came home and my daughter says, ooh there's two spiders now! Well, it was one spider and a shell, I think! Even before that, I've seen it wrap some pretty impressive bugs, including a giant lace wing. The next day, all carcasses are booted out, web is always clean and invisible. We love this spider but I wish we knew if it was a male or female. I dont think I want a load of babies in the kitchen...or do I? Hehe oh, I'm in south western Idaho.

    ReplyDelete
  36. We have one that set up home on a beam on the kitchen ceiling. It was anchored to the freezer door so I we were careful opening the door for a night. Next morning, the web ess completely cleaned up and moved a couple feet over, he or she was blowing in the breeze if the a.c. vent! Ha! So cute. It was a baby, very short legs. This was a couple months ago and a few days ago we came home and my daughter says, ooh there's two spiders now! Well, it was one spider and a shell, I think! Even before that, I've seen it wrap some pretty impressive bugs, including a giant lace wing. The next day, all carcasses are booted out, web is always clean and invisible. We love this spider but I wish we knew if it was a male or female. I dont think I want a load of babies in the kitchen...or do I? Hehe oh, I'm in south western Idaho.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Hi Eric. Have a CF since the middle of Summer. She has molted once. Her name is "Kitty". I really love her and my son who is afraid of spiders...really loves her. She lives in the eave near our back patio light. This year, we had a HUGE outbreak of sod webworms moths. Many were able to break free from her web but those that got caught.. she wrapped up...but quickly released. I found that strange. I've only seen her redo her web once. Right now there is only one column left. And then a whole mess at the top. Last night and was hosing off my patio and I decided to mist her and the web real quick. It was a blast watching her remove the water from the back of her HUGE abdomen. I really hope she leaves an egg sac. I so want to bring her in for the winter...or relocate her to the shed. But the shed has wasps in it and I think that's one of her enemies? Anyway...enjoyed reading your blog. Very informative. Oh...how many times do they molt?

    PS to other readers...be very careful when you "pet" you spider. They could be molting if they are still for a long time and it's a dangerous time for them and must remain still and stress free. Just an FYI.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing. Most web-building and re-building is done at night, so you may not always see it. The wasps that would prey on her are not active now.

      Delete
  39. Enjoyed a cat-face during the latter part of the summer. A couple of years ago had one in the shed.

    Took some pictures when she was out in the sun light.

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210540652169860&set=ms.c.eJxVz8sNwDAIA9CNKiD8vP9idU51lZyewIBbuFVaV0RiOx7~%3BxJtiPwlsQWXZNSNywrDbKjdnS6UXfCIZC~%3BhRYRdcp2caRZMTAX6RMtYcV7k5R6cXd0bppX1rfpf2MHnyBVSjOY8~-.bps.a.10210540651809851.1073741892.1152524559&type=3&theater

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210540652129859&set=ms.c.eJxVz8sNwDAIA9CNKiD8vP9idU51lZyewIBbuFVaV0RiOx7~%3BxJtiPwlsQWXZNSNywrDbKjdnS6UXfCIZC~%3BhRYRdcp2caRZMTAX6RMtYcV7k5R6cXd0bppX1rfpf2MHnyBVSjOY8~-.bps.a.10210540651809851.1073741892.1152524559&type=3&theater

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210540653689898&set=ms.c.eJxVz8sNwDAIA9CNKiD8vP9idU51lZyewIBbuFVaV0RiOx7~%3BxJtiPwlsQWXZNSNywrDbKjdnS6UXfCIZC~%3BhRYRdcp2caRZMTAX6RMtYcV7k5R6cXd0bppX1rfpf2MHnyBVSjOY8~-.bps.a.10210540651809851.1073741892.1152524559&type=3&theater

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210540654409916&set=ms.c.eJxVz8sNwDAIA9CNKiD8vP9idU51lZyewIBbuFVaV0RiOx7~%3BxJtiPwlsQWXZNSNywrDbKjdnS6UXfCIZC~%3BhRYRdcp2caRZMTAX6RMtYcV7k5R6cXd0bppX1rfpf2MHnyBVSjOY8~-.bps.a.10210540651809851.1073741892.1152524559&type=3&theater

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210540655009931&set=ms.c.eJxVz8sNwDAIA9CNKiD8vP9idU51lZyewIBbuFVaV0RiOx7~%3BxJtiPwlsQWXZNSNywrDbKjdnS6UXfCIZC~%3BhRYRdcp2caRZMTAX6RMtYcV7k5R6cXd0bppX1rfpf2MHnyBVSjOY8~-.bps.a.10210540651809851.1073741892.1152524559&type=3&theater

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210540655169935&set=ms.c.eJxVz8sNwDAIA9CNKiD8vP9idU51lZyewIBbuFVaV0RiOx7~%3BxJtiPwlsQWXZNSNywrDbKjdnS6UXfCIZC~%3BhRYRdcp2caRZMTAX6RMtYcV7k5R6cXd0bppX1rfpf2MHnyBVSjOY8~-.bps.a.10210540651809851.1073741892.1152524559&type=3&theater

    ReplyDelete
  40. Now she has died and left next year's brood next to her body.

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210891705625977&set=p.10210891705625977&type=3&theater

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210891711626127&set=p.10210891711626127&type=3&theater

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She is most definitely *not* deceased....and the other spider, tiny as it is, is no relation. Fall is the time for spiders in general.

      Delete
  41. I wish I knew if our Boris was a girl or a boy. We think boy lol no idea why but he sure is fun to watch. I put a paper towel rolled up into a small container of water and stuck it up on the fridge for him to easily hydrate..and there's plenty of flies still even after the moth population has decreased due to weather. We throw flies up there and WoW! When one sticks, he is on it like lightening! He rolls it a bit then goes to the center of the web to finish wrapping it, runs it up to the corner and reels it in like a fishing line before he latches on to it. It's the most amazing thing! I'm so grateful he came to us as a baby so hopefully we'll enjoy our pet for the full year. ❤💝❤

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing! I love hearing stories like this. :-)

      Delete
  42. Hi, I was just wondering how to tell if a cat-faced is a girl or boy, I have one of these beauties in a large terrarium who is clearly a female considers she layed egg the other day ago but I was wondering for future reference. Also, should I toss the spider some food? she's looking really shriveled after laying the eggs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gender in spiders is only readily apparent after the final molt to maturity. Male spiders have highly modified pedipalps for sperm transfer (they look like boxing gloves). Otherwise, in orb weavers, the sexes usually look similar....You can *try* to offer your female food, but she may refuse it, or be too spent to have the energy to capture it. That is simply Nature's way.

      Delete
  43. What a relief to find that I'm not the only cat faced spider lover! My husband thinks I'm crazy for getting so attached to the gorgeous female on our house. My toddlers have loved feeding her and I've got some awesome footage of her wrapping and devouring our gifts. I'm really going to miss her now that's it's getting colder in North Idaho.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw-w-w, you are *definitely* not alone! I think there are many "closet arachnophiles" out there. :-) If you are on Facebook, you would be astounded by how many spider-positive groups there are in that social media outlet alone. Take care, stay warm yourself!

      Delete
  44. I have a pet orb weaver that I took in Nov. 16 and have been friends with since early Aug. I fed her in her web for a while and then took her in before the freeze. I'm a teacher and my students love her stories pics and videos. Last night she put a large egg sac in the corner of her ceiling and lost a lot of weight too. Can I put her in a new tank and keep her still and winter her old tank and eggs out in the garage? Help!!! I'm crazy about this spider and was terrified of them up til I met her.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you have a great plan there, yes. Meanwhile, in the wake of her making an egg sac, she needs rehydration more than anything. I would maybe mist her with distilled water, just a little bit, and/or mist some object from which she can imbibe the water from. She may still die, but as she is weak from her egg-laying efforts, she needs water for at least a few days before she can again make a web to catch food. Good luck, happy holidays.

      Delete
    2. Thank you SOOOO much! I did actually mist her yesterday and she seemed to just love it -- but I often wonder if I project all kinds of feelings on to her that I just hope she is having. Now I know she did appreciate the bath and drink. How much time do you think I have before those little (albeit TOO MANY) cuties could/would hatch. I have a couple days, don't I? I read somewhere it could take 1-4 weeks for them to hatch. I also read that they maybe would NOT be fertilized. I also read that she fertilizes them as she lays them... so then she could have met her beau some time ago? THANKS so much! I WAS feeling like I was alone just like the last person... my teens and hubby think I am crackers, but my students all love Charlotte!

      Delete
    3. Not knowing where (geographically) you are, I can't really say when the spiderlings would emerge, but it would not make sense for them to emerge when no insect prey is available. They are most likely to emerge next May or June. They will cluster together for a few days or a week, then molt again and disperse by "ballooning." Few will remain even in your yard.

      Delete
    4. Thank you!! I kept one over winter in the window until it got to cold, then found a large butterfly habitat for her. I've fed her crickets all winter (shocking, she'll eat 3 in a day!) But she laid her eggs yesterday, it's March. I'm trying to figure out of she'll be able to make another web. I'll hydrate her and try!

      Delete
  45. I'm in super cold Wisconsin. I just wondered if they would hatch FAST inside the warm house if I don't get them out quick enough. Also would they have a chance of being okay in the garage if I leave them there until Spring, then put them outside somewhere safe...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes to the garage, that is why I said I think you have a great plan there. Good luck!

      Delete
  46. Your page and comments have helped me so much. We had one right by our living room window and ive watched her all summer. I used to be arachnophobic but veganism made me think about respecting all creatures so I made an effort to watch her every day at least 3 times a day and so I got used to her and even started to like her. I'm in Saskatchewan, Canada and we had a very very cold blizzard last week and then I saw that her body color changed and she fell out of her hiding spot into her open nest. I was hoping she'd be in hybernation but now I'm reading here that she probably has died. :( I'm very saddened and I shed tears. We had two more of them on the shed in our backyard. They kept each other company all summer. I haven't seen them anymore but I'm sure they died too. It is so cold here right now. I've seen a smaller black spider in the living room spider's nest so I'm thinking there's maybe babies hiding somewhere.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing your story! It would surprise you to know how many different spiders find the "great indoors" hospitable hunting grounds. Thank you for your sensitivity and curiosity. :-)

      Delete
  47. I have enjoyed reading your post here. I was googling "cookie spider" because here in Helena Montana that is what we call them. My husband is from Minnesota and has never heard of them. Do you think any other state calls them cookie spiders? Never knew the true name for this spider. Thanks again for all the information!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your comment! There are many regional names for a lot of insects and spiders, so learning this does not surprise me much. The important thing to know is the scientific name, which identifies the organism precisely, no matter what region it occurs in.

      Delete
    2. No one will probably see this but I found this because I searched cookie spider. I always call them this, and no one has heard it. I am also from Helena MT!

      Delete
  48. I love this! I live in South East Idaho and have a giant beauty living on my back porch. My kids and I have been watching her all summer! Tonight she started acting a little strange which prompted my google search and led me here. I realize we don't know a whole lot about these amazing creatures, but I'm wondering if you can give any insight to her behavior. She's stayed up in her web all summer, but tonight she started diving toward the pavement releasing web, and instantly crawls back up and rolls it into a big ball. These "balls" are a good two feet below her web. This has happened about 10 times in the last hour. I read that they don't create the egg sac until late fall and it's only the beginning of August. Her nest is FULL of little flying insects, so I don't think she's looking for food. I'm curious as to what shes doing! Any ideas?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This would be amazing to document. It could be that she is creating "ballast" to anchor her web in mid-air. I have heard of spiders suspending stones, even, when there is not any available anchor point that they can quickly reach.

      Delete
  49. I love this! I live in South East Idaho and have a giant beauty living on my back porch. My kids and I have been watching her all summer! Tonight she started acting a little strange which prompted my google search and led me here. I realize we don't know a whole lot about these amazing creatures, but I'm wondering if you can give any insight to her behavior. She's stayed up in her web all summer, but tonight she started diving toward the pavement releasing web, and instantly crawls back up and rolls it into a big ball. These "balls" are a good two feet below her web. This has happened about 10 times in the last hour. I read that they don't create the egg sac until late fall and it's only the beginning of August. Her nest is FULL of little flying insects, so I don't think she's looking for food. I'm curious as to what shes doing! Any ideas?

    ReplyDelete
  50. Greetings from 'soggy Springs' Co!
    I posted last year about my new-found love for these giant spiders, and have a couple questions.
    I had a very large cat face living on my porch, off in the corner. Then, poof! she was gone...we all were heartbroken. Then one day, a week or so later, there was another, much larger girl in the same spot. We were so happy to see another of the same 'kind'and the same orange color. My question is, could the 'second' spider, in actuality, have been the 'same' spider, after molting? They were both a very eye catching orange, where as the other ones that lived outdoors between rungs on a deck railing, were all a tan/brown color, much different from "Big Bertha" our orange, covered porch dweller.
    This summer ('17) has been the wettest & soggiest we've experienced for many years in Co Springs, and i have lived here my entire life!
    With that said, i do not have even 1 cat-face adult, and the 2 teeny~weeny babies just disappeared as the torrents of rain arrived a month or more ago.
    Could this cold, wet, soggy area be 'wrong' for the spiders habitation now, and they just couldn't survive? *a small side-note; we have a much larger than normal 'mud-dauber-paper wasp' community building so many mud nests, i mean EVERY & anywhere! As i find, and destroy those mud 'cocoons', low N behold, after 'popping' the tops off the cylinder nests, waiting to 'feed' the larva incubating? were up to 10 small spiders, barely still alive! I've checked every nest i could find, for signs of my cat-face friends. So far, none of the spiders i found in wasps nests are my missing spiders...What awful 'creatures' these over populated flying terrors are!
    So, with all iv'e described going on here, weather, killer wasps, etc. Any idea where all my cat-faced beauties have gone? I miss them so...had 10 of these girls last summer, all over my back deck, and they all had names. We were so excited to host their offspring... *sigh*. Another amazing spider I've found? The 'jumping' spider!...great fun watching them... watching me! But, it's just not the same without the 'cats'....Here kitty kitty kitty... ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing. Just so you know, I *am* in Colorado Springs, too, and agree with you on the weather. However, invertebrate populations have boom and bust years, so I would not worry. Also, I think the spiders might simply be growing a little slower. They don't become obvious until they are mature or nearly so. Just be patient. Lastly, I am a wasp guy, so please don't be interfering in the lives of mud daubers. They are fascinating in their own right. Thank you.

      Delete
    2. I did see your posts on wasps, after I posted my comment above. I get that your a 'wasp guy' but, when these things were 'building' their MANY nests, they did so in my back porch that's an indoor-outdoor room. Those are the ones I've gotten rid of, as I was fed up with how very many wasps were flying in and out, all day, everyday! When they began attacking us as we'd come outside is when we decided 'enough is enough', as we'd tried to co-exist with them. So we began watching where they were going when they flew in, and imagine my 'surprise' when we found 20+ mud nests, hiding everywhere in my back room!
      That's when I dismantled everyone of them that were INSIDE my room and saw what they contained! So in all fairness, we did not 'interfere' in their lives-they actually interfered in ours!
      All the nests ( literally, 100's of them ) that they built OUTSIDE, got to stay.
      When my husband was attacked and stung one day, repeatedly, as he walked thru the room to get outside (as is done all day everyday) by the ungrateful wasps as they moved IN-doors, is when they had to go. Especially since he's violently allergic to bee stings!
      I'd just had it when this happened, hence, the email about removing them.
      I don't ever have a problem with my spiders that exist in this same room that the wasps took over, as I've not ever been 'attacked' going in or out of my indoor/outdoor room by anything OTHER than the mud daubers.
      As an aside, please tell me a little bit about any 'benefits' mud daubers provide?
      Are they beneficial like honey bees? I've searched but cannot find anybody that 'keeps' mud daubers as beekeepers keep honeybees.
      Thanks!

      Delete
    3. Mud daubers do their share of wildflower pollination when they visit flowers for nectar; they also host a wide variety of other insects that scavenge old nests, re-use old nests, or are parasites or predators of the mud daubers in their various life stages. So, yes, they are beneficial to organisms *other* than human beings. Thank you for clarifying your experience.

      Delete
  51. Hello we have had a beautiful cat spider living on our porch for a month or two. We went to visit Yellowstone and when we came back she has disappeared. Her web appears to be in disarray and I can't find her anywhere. Any suggestions as to what may have happened to her? We sure enjoyed her while she was around. She was so awesome. I'm very sad to see that she is not there anymore. :-(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm just happy to hear that you have an appreciation for spiders! There are far too many scenarios to list here concerning why she might have vanished, but she simply could have relocated her web.

      Delete
  52. Thank you. I hope she just moved along. I'll keep my eyes open for her. She was so neat!!

    ReplyDelete
  53. Hi! I've been watching a very large orb spider (I think....huge abdomen, tan color, lots of them found all around the outside of my farm house at night) and I've watched her make a web every night out my kitchen window. Well tonight i saw her come down, but she's sitting on the side of the window about 2 feet above her normal web location and is just sitting there. Do they sometimes not build a web and just hang out for the night? There are a ton of the same type of spider all over the area but she is by far the biggest and typically catches many insects in her web each night (last night I saw her eating a large stink bug). I'm worried that she's sick or dying? I blew on her to make sure she was still alive and she pulled her legs in so she is but I'm not sure why she's acting different tonight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She may be preparing to make an egg sac. She would likely stop eating and devote all her energies to creating the egg sac instead of spinning a new web.

      Delete
  54. Oh my- it's so fun to see that I am not alone in this fascination! I noticed a tiny baby orange dotted spider on my bathroom wall near the light fixture in March. I have watched her grow and recently learned she is a cat-faced spider. She is like a family member. She managed to created her first large orb web coming out from the wall between two medicine cabinet mirrors - just above my head but completely out of the way but where I could observe and learn. That lasted for about a month! She is now in her 4th location in the bathroom. She has molted three times since I met her, once right in front of me - I watched the exoskeleton fall to the floor. Never did I think I would have a spider living loose in my house who would become a friend. I give her a fly now and then. She took one right out of the tweezers the other day as I tried to drop it in her web. Your site is terrific!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing your story! I live for comments like this. Thank you, too, for the compliments on the blog.

      Delete
  55. How many eggs are there usually in an egg sac?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do not know; and it would take entirely too long to research that, unfortunately.

      Delete
  56. Do Cat Face spiders kill Hobo spiders?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, not with any regularity anyway. The two spiders have completely different lifestyles and would seldom, if ever, cross paths.

      Delete
  57. I work at a daycare and the other teachers found one of these. She was found during the day in the middle of her web. It's was connected to a tree and a fence. They put her in a container. Where can I put her so that she can get home safely???? I just read that they may never recover from the trauma of captivity 😞

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think spiders are a bit more durable emotionally than we give them credit for ;-) I would simply return her to any place where she can span an area with her web: a tree, under the eave of a building, etc. She is nearing the end of her lifespan anyway, so don't feel too bad. It is simply the natural cycle of things.

      Delete
  58. Hello, Bug Eric. I too, have a love of insects and am wondering if you might be able to help me with something. I have a large female Cat Faced spider in one of my uncovered window wells. She has been there quite some time. However, I live in Wyoming and it’s already starting to feel like winter. I have an unfinished basement that is occupied by several Steotoda Triangulosa spiders (I leave them alone). There is no lack of food for them down there as evidenced by the large numbers of insect carcasses I find near their webs.
    Now my concern and question: I don’t want her to die in the cold snow. Would it harm her to bring her into my basement and keep her inside, uncontained? Thank You for your input ��❤️����

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Juanita! Thank you for your concern. I usually advise *against* intervening in cases like this. Aside from cave orbweavers, orbweavers are decidedly *outdoor* spiders with webs that are not designed to catch the mostly crawling insects that occupy basements and cellars. You can try bringing her in, but I doubt she would fair too well.

      Delete
  59. Hi Eric, great blog!! We live in Colorado Springs and one day I found 'Catrina' laying on my front porch step. She was balled up and when I touched her she didn't even run. So my boys and I scooped her up and placed her around the opposite side of the house in the roses. It was dark so we never really saw where she went we were sort of freaked out because we hadn't ever seen a spider like her but after researching it we knew not to kill her. So about three days later evening comes around and there she is...back around on the front porch in the center of her beautiful web. We were so excited because we had been looking in the roses for her. That was in July...we are getting colder and colder faster than usual this season and I am afraid she will die before laying her eggs. She always hides in the edge of the roof during the day with one leg attached to her web. 1...do you think this is where she will place her eggs? 2...is it typical for them to disappear to die, or do they often die where they hide? We will miss Catrina dearly, we watch her every night and look for her every morning. We would love to be able to host her babies and maybe one or two will hang around. Surprisingly we have lived in our house for 12 years and she is the first that we have seen so we are hoping!! Thanks for a great blog I wanted to keep her inside until next spring but after reading your recommendations I know that isn't the best for her.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I honestly don't know the answers to your questions, but her species has faced more brutal weather than this for millenia, so I am not too worried about her not reproducing. If she mated she'll have offspring. :-) Thank you for sharing your story, and for the compliments on this blog!

      Delete
  60. I cant believe all the similar stories shared here with mine! I too, was terrified of spiders and when I found a beautiful large female orb weaver outside our garage at night doing her thing, something stopped me from my usual freak out and kill it behavior. I've watched her all summer and fall and done extensive reasearch on her so I know she's going to die soon. My family thinks I'm a bit bonkers especially because of my past relationship with spiders. But now that's all changed. What an interesting creature "Charlotte" is and I've been educating any and everyone who will listen about what an engineering feat her web is and how much time and energy she puts into remaking her web almost every night. It's just remarkable. I'm sad to see he pass on. The last few nights here in Northern California have been near freezing and I've watched her stay in her hiding spot under the garage eave for the past 4 nights not moving much at all. I think she's either focused on laying her egg sack or slowly dying. She's still quite "fat" in her abdomen so I feel like she's laying her eggs. Who knows. All I can do is watch her and marvel at Mother Nature once again surprising me. Thank you so much for this site and information. It's a real blessing and super helpful! Happy Autumn ��

    ReplyDelete
  61. Had my first experience with one of these beautiful creatures this summer and fall. Anna Arachna chose my front dining room window to display her artistic web making talents. Freaked out a few friends who passed her by on their way inside the house but they became impressed with her (through the glass) as well. Never felt misty-eyed about a spider before but I hated to see her go this Fall. Wonderful experience. Thank you for your information to better understand this gentle giant.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for sharing this story, Kimberly! I live for these kinds of comments. :-)

      Delete
  62. Do they hibernate in colder months? and what do the mainly feed off?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Adult spiders normally perish in the first hard frost of autumn. Overwintering happens inside the egg sac. They feed on a variety of flying insects that become trapped in their webs.

      Delete
  63. It is December and we have a cat faced spider inside, in the window of a bedroom.she is very active. Should we provide her with water nearby? Can she survive on just small nats? That seems to be all we see in her web. Thank you. Jennifer

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Jennifer. Sure, you could spritz (mist) her web a little with distilled water. Might as well make her comfortable. Otherwise, I don't recommend intervention. Please see my more recent post, "Saving the World One Bug at a Time" for my general philosophy: http://bugeric.blogspot.com/2017/10/saving-world-one-bug-at-time.html. Thank you, and happy holidays!

      Delete
  64. I came online looking because, like Jennifer, I found weird looking dead flies in our spare bathroom about 4 weeks ago. I looked up and there was a small cat faced spider. I left her alone and she is quite large now. We live in Alberta so there was no way I was going to put her outside in the freezing cold but now she won't have anything to eat until April or May if she lives that long? Our garage is heated so I am wondering if I may be best to move her out there in case she does lay eggs? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I generally do not recommend interfering, but yes, relocating her to the garage might work. The less energy she burns the better, though. So, if she is ok where she is, that might be best. I honestly can't say whether she'll survive. Most do not, and that is just the way nature works. Thank you for your concern and empathy! Happy new year to you. :-)

      Delete
  65. I came online looking because, like Jennifer, I found weird looking dead flies in our spare bathroom about 4 weeks ago. I looked up and there was a small cat faced spider. I left her alone and she is quite large now. We live in Alberta so there was no way I was going to put her outside in the freezing cold but now she won't have anything to eat until April or May if she lives that long? Our garage is heated so I am wondering if I may be best to move her out there in case she does lay eggs? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  66. I have a a. gemmoides inside my kitchen window. She just celebrated New Years with us by eating a cricket in front of guests at a party we were having. I feed her a cricket every other day. We have watched her "trapeze" into her web from her lair to grab a bug. One time she also dropped 6 feet to the ground while feeding to pick up what appeared to be the head of the bug and immediately climbed back up to the web on the strand she dropped down on. She molted 3 weeks ago and has grown to twice her original size. I still have the shell. Guess we'll wait to spring and look for an egg sac. She's living the good life so far.

    ReplyDelete
  67. We had a cat-faced spider appear in October in the corner of our kitchen window. He (we presume) was about the size of my thumb nail and grew considerably over the next few months. He molted once, leaving us an amazing specimen of exoskeleton and has been a joy to observe through the winter. Today we awoke to find his web abandoned. Do you think he left in search of a female, or perished? We cannot find a "body" anywhere and his web is not in great disrepair. We have truly enjoyed the experience of watching him grow and mature and will miss him greatly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds like it might have been a female....but the seasonality in your description is way off for either gender, unless you are really, really far south.

      Delete
    2. I leave in Northern Idaho. I noticed a small cat-faced spider inside my office window one day. Probably got in through the gap around the air conditioner. I left it alone as it would catch other bugs that got through. As the weather got colder I would feed it earwigs or it would catch flies trying to make their way indoors for the winter. Now we are in mid December and I feed it periodic crickets from the pet store. Seems to be going strong, How long do these things live?

      Delete
    3. Spiders are capable of living longer than we give them credit for, especially if they are somewhat protected from predators, parasites, and harsh elements of the weather.

      Delete
  68. Bug Eric, you responded to me on Dec 31, 2017. Since then Charlotte or Charlie has gotten quite large. We’ve had a few warm days so being on a farm has allowed a fly or 2 to hatch about once a month. I would catch it and put it in her very sparse web. She had about 1fly/month. As much as you mentioned not to disturb her, taking 10 minutes to try to get a fly in her web was frustrating so... we bought a critter cage (I know, I know) and put her in it 2weeks ago. caught quite a few flies last week and it is much easier to stick them in the cage and let it go from there. My question is, (I have googled it) what is the lifespan of the cat faced spider? She/he seems to be going strong. Hopefully April will bring good weather and we can put her outside.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is truly remarkable. I forget where you are geographically. To have one survive the winter is rather unusual I would think. No telling how long she will last (males are smaller than you describe, and when mature are nomadic, no longer web-builders). Just enjoy the experience.

      Delete
  69. Do the cat faced females tend to congregate near ach other? I live in southwestern Minnesota and we have 6 ladies on our garden shed porch. 4 of them seem to have webs either connected or truly close to being connected.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, many orbweavers will put up webs in close proximity to each other. They are not overtly territorial.

      Delete
  70. The babies we saw were approx. 1mm, maybe less. very, very small.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The spiderlings of this species are usually over one millimeter. They stay together near the egg sac initially, then disperse after molting again.

      Delete
  71. I believe I have a cat face spider in my back yard in the UK.

    Was all worried about the cold bu found out not bothered about cold. Hope she's OK. Not sure where sh has come from..if it is a cat faced.

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155512164356216&set=a.217381096215&type=3&theater

    ReplyDelete
  72. I absolutely love this website! It's helped me answer a lot of my questions about the beautiful catface discovered outside my sister's window last summer that we named Aela. We saw her with a male one day and of course she grew huge! I loved staring out the window while she built her web or ate her meals. She had a new moth in there almost every day! Eventually winter came and when I looked at her after the second frost she was skinny, orange, and her cat face looked like a demon face! It was like looking at the essence of Halloween. After looking around for a bit trying to find where she put her eggsac I discovered it right under her and I believe she was even still depositing some eggs in it. She stuck around for a few more days and then wandered off to finish her life cycle. I check on the eggsac every time I visit my sister's house and I'm excited for spring to see it hatch. I have only one question... there is a very small spider under my sister's roof in the backyard. I barely noticed it but it's been in the same spot, same position since October. I eventually poked it with a leaf to make sure it was alive and after getting through some silk it stretched it's leg outward. But like I said, it's winter. So why is it alive? Do you think it's a male waiting for mating season to come around again? Thank you for this website! I hope you still look at it here and there, I know I'm a little late to the party.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm even *later* to the party because I have found it nearly impossible to comment. I found a workaround, but it appears to still be a random fix.....I'm not sure why your spider is so long-lived, though if it has a way of sheltering from weather extremes, and is able to pull in a meal now and then, there is no reason it cannot survive longer than average. It is likely a female. Males cease to eat once they mature. It is all about finding a mate, so they become unable to spin webs.

      Delete
  73. Lovely to read that I am not the only person who feeds their favorite spiders.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right?! I am amazed by how attitudes towards spiders are changing for the better.

      Delete
    2. I hated spiders, sad to say.... Getting attached to just one makes all the difference in the world!

      Delete
  74. Eric I love reading your blog! I have several cat faced beauties and just love them! I do throw month and insects in their web and they don't seem to mind. I'm out everyday talking to them also...lol
    They seem to relax and loosen their legs a bit when they hear my voice. I've noticed their egg sacs but have also noticed several tiny babies already out and about. Are they going to live thru the winter? I have lots of beautiful pics of my friends from a very light cream orange to a darker grey brown. They have gotten super super big this year 😊

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At least one person who has commented indicates that on occasion the spiders *can* survive the winter. My own experience finding adults far in advance of their "usual" maturity season suggests this might be the case with more frequency than one would think.

      Delete
    2. I really think the babies hibernate over winter. They hatch in late May/June here and I'm in a position to watch their growth. They don't get even close to adult size by fall. Then I find them out again, much bigger, before the hatch. The girl I brought inside for winter was very small and has grown all winter. That said. I'm shocked she laid eggs in March and I'm very confused at that. In fall she wasn't close to big enough to lay eggs, the size of half my thumb nail. I really think they hibernate...they just can't reach adult size in 4 months. I've watched.

      Delete
  75. I have always been terrified of spiders. I have a cat faced spider in the front of my house perched in a corner near my garden. When I realized she wasn't aggressive and she wasn't leaving I now have become a bit attached! I noticed her at the end of July, and we have had our first freeze and she is still there thriving. I check for her morning and evening. When I see her during the day, she is in the middle of her web enjoying the daylight. How long into winter will she survive? She is beautiful actually.. and maybe two weeks ago her pointy "cat ears" have become prominent.

    ReplyDelete
  76. I love my Charlotte-cat faced spider. She has gotten quite large over the summer and seems to be friendlier than most on here. She will come out at the sound of my voice-day or night and when she lifts her hind legs I know she wants a back scratch which I very gently do with a pine needle. She just wanders off when she's done. I catch an occasional fly or wasp for her or moths (her favorites) at night time. She has truly been entertaining. I'm sad because I know here time here is getting short (Central Washington State) I'm hoping she has a huge egg sac somewhere!

    ReplyDelete
  77. I Iove seeing that so many people appreciate spiders—esp. cat-faced spiders. We noticed one on our front porch (in Montana) several years ago on Oct. 27. She was gone the next day. But! My husband was at the front door on Halloween and I happened to look up above his head and there she was! She’d moved in and made a giant web in the corner. We left her there, occasionally tossed flies in the web. Neighbors even brought flies over :-). She disappeared around Thanksgiving and we couldn’t find her. Then a few weeks later I stumbled upon her when I went to pull a shade down. She’d made a new web in the lace curtains. She disappeared again in mid-January; I found her dead on the floor. Hated to lose her but I think she managed to live a bit longer by moving in. I did wash the curtai; I love spiders but I didn’t want hundreds in the house.

    Speaking of which—we found three clusters of eggs, we think from cat-daced spiders—maybe four days ago. Fun to watch; they clustered together when it was cooler and spread out when it warmed up. But I just checked on them and they’re gone. I’m hoping they dispersed on their own. How long do babies stick around before launching?

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am also in Montana - I have a Mama at my back door and I too look forward to seeing her babies emerge in the spring. As long as they are outside I am happy to coexist with them! :D

      Delete
  78. No one seems to mention a word about the strength of their silk. Which I find to be the strongest I've personally come across. Using a finger, you can actually feel the tension in the thread without breaking it. Incredible! I'd like to find out where the cat faced spiders silk rates among the strongest. Thanks for the blog btw, bug Eric.

    ReplyDelete
  79. I've had a cat faced spider on the porch for a while now! She has survived all the freezing nights and just now layed an egg sac! I'm wondering if the eggs will hatch(assuming they're fertile) at the normal time, or wait longer because they were layed late! I'm surprized that she's still alive! Every night it goes decently below freezing! Maybe she is getting some warmth from the window she has placed herself.

    ReplyDelete
  80. Hi Eric, I found your blog searching for info on the Jewel or Cat Face Spider. I first noticed one on my south facing balcony a in 2020. She disappeared after summer as I think it got too hot. This year I have one just outside my back door and one out in the yard. I look forward to looking for the egg sack and watching the babies emerge next spring.
    I consider myself lucky to overcome my disgust of spiders. My Mom was an arachnophobe and I learned to hate and fear spiders. Now I have a reasonably comfortable existence with them. :-D

    ReplyDelete
  81. Hello, i have one of these guys in my sun room she is big abd beautiful, there was two actually side by side but today i went to make my observations and the smaller spider was gone...now the larger spider is in the missing spider spot.... did she eat her neighbour and then take over her web and home? Are they known to do that? Its the end of the season i imagine bugs are getting harder to find the now missing spiders web and spot was always better postioned for trapping.... did shelia eat mustang sally?😱

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Without seeing the two spiders I cannot make an educated comment. Smaller spider could have been a male, and simply left after success (or not)....

      Delete
  82. I found one on the ground on my sundeck last year of 2021 around November ..so I picked her up and put her in a jar and fed her flies right up until today which is march 2,2022 I found no movement from her..so I put a very tiny drop of water and I put the jar out side for fresh air. She may not live ,if she don't I'm glad she lived this long, I was hoping she would of made it longer cause I was going to put her back where her egg sack is

    ReplyDelete
  83. I took a hatching from last June and in late summer, I put her in my kitchen window where many flies congregate in the morning. I kept her there until December when the window got too cold. I bought a large butterfly habitat and put a tree branch inside. She rebuilt her web immediately and I buy crickets for her. The mesh helps water bead on it and I have several pictures of her drinking. Being portable has also helped me keep her warm in our very cold months.

    After a week of being quiet. She took down her web and didn't move. I was expecting a molt. But she laid eggs! There is no way that they are fertile as she was a baby when I brought her in (very small). I truly believe these live 2 years as the June babies are a fraction of the adult size in fall. I've even seen the babies web right next to an adult, and it's very tolerated by the adult. I had every intention of putting her back outside in May.

    I'm not sure quite what to do. I know they are supposed to die after laying eggs, but March is totally the wrong season. I read in this blog to hydrate her so she can hopefully rebuild her web. That's what I'll do. I'm thinking one of two things. Either she'll recover, build another web, and lay again in fall...or because she's been inside and didn't hibernate (which is not really documented), I've messed up her clock and she'll soon die. Spinner is part of the family and has a good following on my fb with friends. We've truly enjoyed her and I know she's enjoyed us. Hoping she'll rebuild her web and continue. Any advice in this very unique situation is appreciated. My exact question is...can they build another web after laying eggs?? But I wanted to also document it because I do think it's unique.

    Eric, Thank You so much for your time on this amazing blog, we have all learned so much!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am so sorry that your comments were waiting in the queue for so long! My apologies. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. There is still so much we collectively don't know about other species, and I hope "anecdotal" observations like yours are not ignored by the scientific community.

      Delete
  84. Hi Bug Eric, I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada and have 3 female cat faced spiders on my city house 🏠 property.
    Is it normal for 2 females to join webs , 1 was living beneath the other and basically moved into the other spiders web.
    It's autumn and almost time to lay there egg sacs.
    Is it normal for these pregnant girls to share a web.

    ReplyDelete
  85. Is this post still active? I have a question.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is still active! I have been unable to find a way to respond to comments until now, and even so it seems to be a workaround that works randomly. I'll do my best to help you if you are still wondering about something.

      Delete
  86. Hello! We have a high number of Cat-Faced spider females that all share one large area on the side of my house, and have recently discovered a plethora of very tiny spiderlings have began to form webs in rhe area too, it seems to be a hot spot for insect activity in order to sustain all of these little guys! My question is that since cat faced spiders are in fact insectivores and also have been recorded to cannibalize smaller cat faced spiders and other small arachnids, with so many females , would they become so territorial as to kill and even eat another large female if they were in a more confined space??

    ReplyDelete
  87. No, adult orbweavers do not cannibalize each other. They do not stray from their webs into the webs of other spiders.

    ReplyDelete
  88. Hello! Not sure if this is monitored anymore as most comments are fairly old but, I had an orb weaver take up shelter in my sunflower plant. I took a photo of her and at the time found I believe she was a spiderling {August}. Anyways, I left her in my plant all summer and boy did she grow 😳 I literally checked on her every single day. I recently put her in a jar because I pulled my dying sunflowers up and didn’t want her to be without shelter. She didn’t seem to be as “happy” so I returned her to the wild {the cherry tree in my yard}. She took off up the branch and was last seen busy near some leaves. Hopefully she sticks around a bit, I’ve enjoyed watching her all season and will be sad when her life comes to an end. Please note: I HATE SPIDERS but this one got my soft spot.

    ReplyDelete
  89. We have a large female (I call her Debbie) on our front porch right by our porch light next to our door. I’ve grown fond of checking on her and learning about her. My husband wants her gone. I told him I couldn’t hurt her and that I would clear her web once she goes to spider heaven on her own in early winter. It’s now nearly January in Denver and we’ve had several freezes, but Debbie’s still kickin’ around her web every night. What gives?

    ReplyDelete

Blog author currently unable to reply to reader comments, nor comment himself. Working to resolve this.