Western Spotted Orbweaver

About the Western Spotted Orbweaver

The Western Spotted Orbweaver is a classic garden orb-weaver, its rounded abdomen patterned in black and white spotting over tan to nearly black base color - highly variable from spider to spider. Females, much larger than males, are the web-builders.

Each evening she constructs or repairs a large wheel-shaped orb web, often strung between shrubs or across gaps a few feet off the ground, then waits head-down at the hub or hides at the web's edge holding a signal line. Flying insects - moths, flies, leafhoppers - are snared, wrapped, and eaten, and the tattered web is often recycled by morning.

In Texas these orbweavers become conspicuous in late summer and fall, when mature females and their big webs decorate gardens, fencerows, and porch eaves. They are harmless to people and excellent natural pest control.