People who think all spiders are creepy, and have no beauty about them whatsoever have never seen an Orchard Orbweaver, Leucauge venusta. This member of the family Tetragnathidae is pearly white or silvery with black, yellow, and red markings, and green legs. It is a truly lovely animal.
The Orchard Orbweaver is one of two species in the genus Leucauge found in North America north of Mexico. The other is L. argyra, found only in Florida. L. venusta occurs from southern Ontario, Canada to Florida, and east to Nebraska and eastern Texas. It also ranges as far south as Panama. I have encountered them in Ohio, Massachusetts, and South Carolina.
Despite its common name, it is not terribly common in orchards, preferring woodland habitats where it builds a horizontal orb web in shrubs, and bushes. Younger spiders have their webs closer to the ground, while adults spin them about 1.5 meters high. The web of an adult spans roughly twelve inches, and features an average of 30 radii (“spokes”) and more than sixty spirals.
The spider hangs upside down in the hub (center) of its snare, displaying a mostly black underside with a red crescent or rectangular spot. Unfortunately, many people mistake the Orchard Orbweaver for a black widow because of that red marking. However, widow spiders are almost never out in their webs during the day, and widows build tangled webs, not orbs.
It is also easy to mistake this species for orb weavers in the genus Mangora, but those spiders spin a vertical orb web, not a horizontal one. The Basilica Spider is also similar, and spins a horizontal orb web, but the orb is pulled into a dome shape. Finally, many sheetweb weavers in the family Linyphiidae resemble Leucauge venusta, but none of them spin orb webs.
Mature females of the Orchard Orbweaver measure 5.5-7.5 millimeters in body length, and males 3.5-4 millimeters. Individuals overwinter as sub-adults, hiding in leaf litter and under loose bark. Adults are found most abundantly in late spring and early summer, perhaps avoiding competition with other web-building spiders that mature later in the season.
The Orchard Orbweaver is shy, and drops from its web straight to the ground if it feels threatened, often disappearing into leaf litter and undergrowth. Don’t let that deter you from looking for it. These are highly photogenic spiders.
Sources: Gaddy, L.L. 2009. Spiders of the Carolinas. Duluth, MN: Kollath+Stensaas Publishing. 208 pp.
Jackman, John A. 1997. A Field Guide to Spiders & Scorpions of Texas. Houston: Gulf Publishing Co. 201 pp.
Jones, Janson. 2011. “Leucauge venusta (Orchard Orbweaver),” Dust Tracks on the Web
Weber, Larry. 2003. Spiders of the North Woods. Duluth, MN: Kollath+Stensaas Publishing. 205 pp.
This tiny beauty is becoming one of my favorite spiders to photograph. Yesterday, May 23, I spent a couple hours in our woods primarily photographing this species. They are truly abundant at this time---but so much smaller than the "typical" summer orbweavers like Araneus species---that they are easy to overlook. There seems to be endless variety in their markings/patterns, too! Thanks for this nice introduction to a remarkable little creature.
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome! At this time of year, depending on what latitude you find them, they are still immature. They are likely to get a little larger than what you are seeing now. I saw some in western Illinois two weeks ago that were definitely not adults yet. They can also be confused with Mangora, which *are* small as adults.
DeleteI found your site by typing in a description of one of the spiders. I was in the mountains of Tennessee.
ReplyDeleteHello. I found this post while searching for information on variations in Leucauge venusta web design. Today I saw two Leucauge venusta not thirty feet away from one another. The first, located at the top of a shrub, had the horizontal orb web I'd come to expect, with a tangle web beneath it. The second, located in a corner of a vertical pole fence, had nothing but a tangle web. In the second case, I assumed that the spider resorted to the tangle web because a corner was not a viable location for an orb web, but there could have been other variables involved. I'd be interested to hear of any similar observations you've made.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
-Hugh Yeman
Interesting observation. Were both specimens female? I ask because I recently learned that when many male orb weavers mature, they lose the capacity to spin normal webs. That said, I don't have anything else to add. I am a dedicated "generalist," and don't always have a great deal of depth on all species I treat here.
DeleteHi Bug Eric! I've just come back from hiking, and I took photo of this spider. Can you help me what it is exactly? A friend of mine says, that it is a golden silk spider, but "mine" is completely black. I am very curious. Thank you for your help in advance. :)
ReplyDeletehttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-luqnQQSoMn0/UmrS1batf8I/AAAAAAAABvc/b0Bcdtb8Yao/w263-h350-no/DSCN1912.JPG
Zizzer, your friend is correct. The spider is a female Nephila clavipes. I believe the "black" look is just from poor lighting, or perhaps it is simply an older, darker specimen. In the future, please include the geographic location where you found the spider you wish identified.
DeleteDear Bug Eric, thank you for your answer! You're right, I should have told you the exact location, I was just very excited and I simply forgot this very important information. :) I took this photo in Brooker Creek Preserve, Tarpon Springs, Florida
DeleteYou are very welcome, Zizzer :-)
DeleteHi Eric!
ReplyDeleteWe live in Washington, DC - on Capitol Hill - and my boys and I (they are 4 and 6) have fallen in love with an orchard orbweaver who has taken up residence in our back patio. (She's a city-girl apparently.)
We have many questions and we were hoping you could help us answer them or kindly point us in the right direction.
- She's fairly easy to see, so I think it's a female but is there a way to tell if it's a male or female besides size (I'm awful at estimating, especially in metric :)
- When she leaves the web center, she snaps back to it so very quickly and it doesn't look like she uses her legs to do it. I've watched her do it dozens of times but I can't tell how she does it - am I imagining things or could she have herself tethered to a piece of silk or something?
- When she eats, does she eat the entire bug?
- Does she weave a new web every night and if so, does she eat the old one? If not, how often will they spin new - does it just depend on wear-and-tear?
- When, and what type of spot, will she look to lay her eggs in?
Thanks Eric!
Lynette (And Harv and Hud)
Please consult the resources I list under "Sources" for more information. Thank you.
DeleteIm not sure if this kind of spider is what i found. Ive never seen one before or even know if they libe in tn
ReplyDeleteYes, this species occurs in Tennessee.
DeleteWe have at least 4 or 5 of these with webs between our shrubs & house. My oldest daughter, Lily, who is 6.5 loves spiders. We have held a female before & they are very docile once they realize they're in no harm.
ReplyDeleteHey Eric, thank you for your time and posts. I now can comfortably sit on my patio in southwest Houston without fear of poisonous bites (and just in time for the babies too). They are beautiful
ReplyDeleteI just saw one of these yesterday amongst my raspberries and your picture helped me identify it, thank you! A very pretty spider and I left it completely alone.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the compliment, and...you're welcome! :-)
DeleteHey Eric, I live in Springfield Missouri, and It seems I may have found one of these Orbweavers in my backyard.. It is creating it's web on my kids playset. Just curious if you have heard for them to be in these parts, and amongst a residential neighborhood?
ReplyDeleteThey should occur there, yes.
DeleteI'm in Western PA and they are all over my yard. I'm so scared of spiders
ReplyDeleteI am in New orleans. It is a beauty.
ReplyDeleteIt had taken to build a Web in my really old still producing fig tree.
Thank you Eric
Thank you for helping us identify this spider! Very pretty, here in Dallas, Tx.
ReplyDeleteJust found one on my back porch here in Brighton,Ontario,Canada on Canada day. (July 1st). Very beautiful spider. Are they by any chance poisonous? I just relocated it in my garden away from my patio door.
ReplyDeleteFound this beauty yesterday (Western New York). It's determined to spin right outside my sliders. Finally encouraged it to spin in a different direction, and I hope it will stick around. Its gorgeous! Is there a way to upload pics? I got a beautiful picture showing off its green legs.
ReplyDeleteI have had to disable the ability of others to upload pictures. I would be spammed to death otherwise. Sorry!
DeleteHi Bug Eric!
ReplyDeleteI’m from New Zealand and whilst walking in the bush today I found a stunning spider which looked very similar to one’s pictured. The web design and position were all the same as well. The only difference was slight in the pattern on the abdomen. It had a black tip at the end that had jagged lines moving up the abdomen towards the thorax then there were two little dots. This gave the impression of a face looking at you when looking at it from behind. It was such a beautiful spider but unfortunately I couldn’t get a good picture. The body shape and legs were the exact same as the spider pictured above. Would you be able to point me in the right direction as New Zealand isn’t listed as a place they live. Thank you and have a great day :)
Try the "Silver Orb Spider," Leucauge dromedaria, and see if that is not your spider there in New Zealand.
DeleteSeen for my first time in far NE Texas forest.
ReplyDelete