SpiderFilter

September 17, 2007 8:34 PM

Can you identify this spider? Are we going to die?

So we have had this spider living in our backyard for a few weeks. It is about 1.5" across and sits in the middle of a large radial web about 2-3' in diameter. She (?) only comes out at night, and sits there upside down. Did I mention it is RIGHT next to our spa? Is this thing going to eat us in our sleep? What kind of spider is it?

posted by Big_B to home & garden (13 comments total)

Looks like an Orb Weaver. Never been bit by one, but we used to have huge ones in the back yard when I was growing up. I don't think they're dangerous.
posted by contraption at 8:45 PM on September 17, 2007

Your picture looks almost identical to the first one that comes up in Google Image Search for Orb Weaver, in fact. My guess would be Araneus diadematus (picture - search for the name).
posted by shadow vector at 8:47 PM on September 17, 2007

It's a common orbweaver, check out the pic towards the bottom of this "spiders misidentified as the deadly brown recluse" page here, the abdominal marking is very typical. It's harmless.
posted by nanojath at 8:47 PM on September 17, 2007

Now that that's covered, the tag you were supposed to use here was eek. The tagging system doesn't work unless you apply it correctly!
posted by nanojath at 8:51 PM on September 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

Just from Googling around, I'm guessing she's Araneus diadematus - aka European Garden Spider/Orb Weaver. Here's some undersides that look like yours. She will not bite you, and if she does, it will be gentle.

Preview: what they said!
posted by lemuria at 8:52 PM on September 17, 2007

Well, not gentle, but you won't die. Observe the graceful ways of the spider with respect.
posted by lemuria at 8:55 PM on September 17, 2007

Well, I really like spiders. I think you're pretty lucky to have a critter that pretty much stays in one place (no sneaking up on you) and eats mosquitoes and other things that are more likely to be a pain while you're lounging in your spa. My husband, on the other hand, agrees that this should have had an "eek" tag.
posted by thebrokedown at 8:57 PM on September 17, 2007

One fun thing to do with abandoned orb weaver webs is to coat them with spraypaint, then while it's still wet, push a piece of contrasting foam-core or posterboard against it. When I was little we always did white on black, but black on white or any fluorescent color on black would look pretty cool too.
posted by contraption at 9:05 PM on September 17, 2007

Big spiders that sit upside down in large webs in the out of doors are almost always harmless orb weavers, at least in the United States.

That may not be true on other continents, and is almost certainly not true in Australia, where spiders will leap, snarling, from their webs, paralyze you, and drag you back to feed their young. Or just bite you and make you really sick, I always forget which.
posted by Malor at 9:25 PM on September 17, 2007

Thanks all (even you JaySunSee!). I fixed the tag too. We don't plan on disturbing her, as we can see from many wrapped up items that she is obviously not starving and helping with our mosquito issues.

Now to go read all these links!
posted by Big_B at 9:37 PM on September 17, 2007

Cool, we have loads of these in our back garden, nice to know what they are.
posted by zeoslap at 10:15 PM on September 17, 2007

I came back in to mention one potentially scream-inducing behavior of some orb-weavers. (Not sure about yours.) When disturbed, some of them will rapidly jump up and down on their webs, shaking the whole thing rather strongly. Just saying "go away!" and not preparatory to flying off and coming for you, but it can be rather, um, exciting to view.
posted by thebrokedown at 11:34 PM on September 17, 2007

For future reference: Spend some time with What's that Bug's spider section one day. Or BugGuide's -- there's a link to BugGuide on here already.

It's weird to me that people debate the danger posed by each individual spider type they see. Even weirder that many people I know don't seem to realize that spiders aren't designed to stalk and injure humans, and may not even notice you exist. Even a tiny bit of reading on the subject can relieve a lot of anxiety.

Last week, I saw a spider of the kind you have here. It had built its web in front of a light source, between a brick wall and a bush. It was extremely visible, and someone was sure to kill it, so I came back the next day to rescue it. It was already gone. I'd like to think someone moved the guy, but the odds are looooow. Poor dude.
posted by Coatlicue at 8:11 AM on September 18, 2007