Araneus marmoreus, The marbled orb weaver is a colorful orb weaver species. Due to its orange color, it is sometimes also referred to as pumpkin spider. The marbled orb weaver can be found throughout the east of the United States and in Canada.
Marbled orb weaver description
The Marbled Orb Weaver can have several appearances. The coloring can be a bright orange, a mixture of lighter orange and beige, bright yellow with black, pale yellow and black, cream, to brown to even red.
Due to the sometimes bright orange abdomens that it received its nickname as the Pumpkin Spider. Another attributing factor for their nickname is the fact that they are most often seen in the fall time when pumpkins become popular. As the Fall sets in, their abdomens will enlarge, making them much more noticeable.
Usually, mixed within the patterns on its abdomen, are two swirling darker stripes that run side by side down the middle. It is almost wrong to call them stripes because of how much they swirl, and often even touch each other. These patterns give the abdomen a marbled like appearance.
Size
Female marbled orb weavers can reach a size of up to one inch (24 mm).
Web
Like any orb weaver, the marbled orb weaver spins large webs to catch small flying insects. The spider rests in its web and feels the vibrations once a prey hits the web.
Bite
As is true for any orb weaver, the bite of the marbled orb weaver is not dangerous for humans. It may cause similar symptoms like a bee sting at worst.
Araneus marmoreus scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Subphylum: Chelicerata
- Class: Arachnida
- Order: Araneae
- Infraorder: Araneomorphae
- Family: Aranidae
- Genus: Araneus
- Species: Araneus marmoreus
Distribution of the marbled orb weaver in the USA
The marbled orb weaver can be found all over the Northern United States from Coast to Coast, including Alaska. It ranges from Oregon down to Texas and the east coast from there. It hasn’t been sighted in Florida, however. That means that it can be found in the following states: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
This spider was outside of the kitchen window in Williamsburg, VA. It’s really beautiful! What is it??
Hello Jim,
Beautiful shot! This is a marbles orb weaver (Araneus marmoreus): http://usaspiders.com/araneus-marmoreus-marbled-orb-weaver/
I’ve used your great picture in our post.
Body between .5 and 1 inch long, yellow abdomen and creamy salmon/orange thorax/head. Striped legs. Had a kinda circular web.
Hello Anne, thanks for getting in touch! Would you mind sharing where you found this spider?
This is most certainly a male marbled orb weaver (Araneus marmoreus). Here is an image of a very similar-looking fellow: https://www.jungledragon.com/image/90525/marbled_orb-weaver_-_araneus_marmoreus_male.html
And here is our overview for Araneus marmoreus: https://usaspiders.com/araneus-marmoreus-marbled-orb-weaver/
Found in Barnegat Light NJ spider is more green in color than it appears in photo
Hello Lou, thanks for getting in touch. The colors look a bit interesting, indeed. The pattern looks like a marbled orb weaver (Araneus marmoreus). Here is an image with a very similar pattern:
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Finfinitespider.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F10%2F781px-Araneus_marmoreus-wiki.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Finfinitespider.com%2Fbig-orange-spider%2F&tbnid=_HyZgx5DpKbeGM&vet=12ahUKEwi_1sjz5O7xAhUc_rsIHUHeBe8QMyhAegQIARBf..i&docid=vdjGjBJL8gGaHM&w=781&h=600&q=yellow%20spider%20wisconsin&ved=2ahUKEwi_1sjz5O7xAhUc_rsIHUHeBe8QMyhAegQIARBf
Here is our overview for the marbled orb weaver: https://usaspiders.com/araneus-marmoreus-marbled-orb-weaver/
Was it that spider?
My grandparents live in Anchorage, AK and have had this spider living in their doorway for a while. I haven’t been able to find a match to it anywhere, but I suspect it might be an orb weaver of some kind.
Hi Merritt, you are right, this is a female orb weaver. It took me a little time to figure out which one it is since the color pattern is quite unique. I am fairly certain that this is a marbled orb weaver (Araneus marmoreus). It is usually orange or yellow but sometimes also black and white like the one your grandparents found. Here is a similar looking lady: https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/23839199
I found this spider on my back porch in Wasilla Alaska. I am new to Alaska and have never seen anything like this before. He is extremely fast. Has a web and only came out when a fly got stuck. I found him after he wrapped the fly. I was trying to get pictures but he unhooked his dinner and took it back to his crack in the window seal. One side had a huge black dot and his other side had a different marking. Please help.. Thanks.
Hello Jodi, thanks for getting in touch! This is a marbled orb weaver (Araneus marmoreus): https://usaspiders.com/araneus-marmoreus-marbled-orb-weaver/
It’s not a medically significant spider.