Neoscona crucifera, commonly known as the spotted orbweaver, is an orb weaver species indigenous to the Eastern part of North America.
Description of the spotted orb weaver
The abdomen, which is usually a shade of brown or reddish brown, has a slight pattern but nothing that stands out, and is usually covered with thick hairs. The legs will have brown or red-brown coloring closer to the body and have black and white / tan bands on the half furthest away from the cephalothorax.
In Texas, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico, the range of the spotted orb weaver overlaps with the western spotted orb weaver (Neoscona oaxacensis). Most of the time, these two species can be distinguished. However, since the western spotted orb weaver can take on various appearances, it might look similar to Neoscona crucifera. Both of these spiders are not medically significant.
Size
The body of the female adult will grow to ¾ of an inch (19 mm). If you include the legs, they can reach around 1 ½ inches (38 mm).
Web
As any orb weaver, the spotted orb weaver spins webs to catch small insects. The web is orb-shaped and is rebuild every day.
Bite
The spotted orb weaver is not an aggressive spider. However, in some situations, it occurs that it bites a human or a pet. The symptoms are usually comparable with a bee sting and will not have any long term negative effects.
Neoscona crucifera scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Subphylum: Chelicerata
- Class: Arachnida
- Order: Araneae
- Infraorder: Araneomorphae
- Family: Aranidae
- Genus: Neoscona
- Species: Neoscona crucifera
Common Names
Most commonly, Neoscona crucifera are called spotted orbweavers. Other common names are Hentz orbweaver and barn spider.
Distribution of spotted orbweavers in the USA
The spotted orbweaver appears in the eastern United States. It is commonly found all over the east coast, to Minnesota in the north and until eastern Arizona in the South. The spotted orb weaver can be found in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Confirmed neoscona crucifera sighting in Rapid City, South Dakota. 13 August 2020.
Found in Georgia
Hello John, thank you for getting in touch! This is a spotted orb weaver. It is not a medical concern for humans and great to have around for insect control. I’ve moved the comment to our info page about the spotted orb weaver.
Let us know if you have any other questions.
Best
USAspiders
Found a Hentz’s (the pale tan/khaki ones) tonight (1/2 hr ago), of all the places, in my dining room, weaving a web from the patio curtains to the pull chain fob on the ceiling fan, a good 3 feet reach.
We live in the country, and I would wager that while I was working this afternoon, someone (likely the 10 yr old) left the patio screen door open a crack, and she walked in.web had to be 90% done when I found it, was kind of a shame to have to knock it down while I caught her up on a house broom, then managed to deposit her outside on the patio where she belongs.
Didn’t think to get a picture until too late, oh well.
I was actually headed over to close the patio glass before going to bed, which is why I found it.
We kill Recluses in the house mercilessly, but we don’t see too many IMO because we deliberately try not to kill off wolves and jumpers that find their way indoors (and especially into the basement).
Hello Aaron,
Thanks for not killing the orb weaver and setting it free outside. It will be able to find a new place to set up its web and catch some insects. They are quick at setting up a web.
Best
USAspiders
I think this is a cat face orb weaver… who can confirm?
Hello Heather,
It’s hard to identify the spider 100% just from this photo. It’s definitely an orb weaver. I don’t think this is a cat-faced orb weaver. More likely a spotted orb weaver (Neoscona crucifera – http://usaspiders.com/neoscona-crucifera-spotted-orb-weaver/) or a barn orb weaver (Araneus cavaticus)
Found hanging from a tree in October in Virginia USA. It has very distinctive marks on its back
Hello Paula, thanks for reaching out. This is definitely a harmless orb weaver. Since the abdomen is a little dark in the picture, I can’t say for sure what species. I would say a Neoscona sp. orb weaver. Possibly spotted orb weaver (http://usaspiders.com/neoscona-crucifera-spotted-orb-weaver/). The two visible white markings look a bit like Neoscona oaxacaensis but since you found the spider in Virginia that would be out of their natural range and rather unlikely.
I thought this was a good picture that you could use of the spider at my house. Found in Southern Indiana
This is Spidey Widey. It has been around since it was a baby. Has made beautiful webs!! Has disappeared a couple of times due to cooler weather but has reappeared when it warms up. He/She is not building the web it once was..just want to confirm that it is a spotted orb weaver and ask if its possibly pregnant??
Here is an earlier/brighter picture
Hello Ashley,
Thanks for uploading the pictures. Spidey Widey looks very much like a Neoscona species. However, given the darker markings on the back of the abdomen, I would say that is more likely an arabesque orb weaver (Neoscona arabesca): http://usaspiders.com/neoscona-arabesca-arabesque-orb-weaver/
Thank you so much for the clarification and the response! 🙂
This is a dark picture, but this girl was outside on some foamular insulation in our yard. She has a brown, shiny, translucent thorax with a matte (haired?) darker abdomen with a very faint, lighter chevron pattern. Long legs that alternate from brown to black in segments. I thought the mouth parts were interesting…there seem to be two sets?