Marbled Orbweaver
HarmlessAraneus marmoreus · also called pumpkin spider, halloween spider
The marbled orbweaver is the bright orange spider that appears in October and gets photographed and posted every autumn under the assumption that it must be dangerous. It is harmless, it is common across most of the country, and the orange form is the reason it is nicknamed the pumpkin spider.
Quick facts
- Bite risk
- Harmless. No medical significance whatsoever.
- Size
- Body 9–20 mm. Body up to a thumbnail, with a very round abdomen and comparatively slim legs.
- Appearance
- A strikingly round abdomen, bright orange or creamy yellow with a marbled pattern of dark brown or purplish markings. The legs are banded orange and dark.
- Web
- Orb web in damp woodland edge and streamside vegetation, with the spider usually hidden in a leaf retreat to one side.
- Found in
- garden, woods, water
- Family
- Araneidae
- Range
- Most of the United States
How to identify a marbled orbweaver
- Very round, smooth, marbled orange or cream abdomen.
- Banded legs and a small head-and-thorax relative to the huge abdomen.
- Usually hiding in a curled leaf beside the web rather than sitting in it.
- Peak visibility in September and October.
How it behaves
Waits in a silk-lined leaf retreat holding a signal line to the web, rushing out when something is caught.
What the marbled orbweaver is confused with
One observation settles each of these.
Cross orbweavers have a white cross of spots; marbled orbweavers have a marbled pattern and are usually far more orange.
If you think you were bitten
- Most suspected spider bites are not spider bites. Studies of patients presenting with a “spider bite” repeatedly find that the large majority are bacterial skin infections — frequently MRSA — which need antibiotics rather than reassurance. A spreading, painful, pus-filled sore is far more likely to be an infection than a spider.
- Wash it, ice it, and watch it. Clean the area with soap and water, apply a cold pack, and keep an eye on it.
- Get medical care if the wound spreads or darkens, if you develop cramping, sweating, fever or severe abdominal pain, or if you are confident it was a widow or a recluse.
- Bring the spider only if it is already dead and to hand. Do not go looking for it. Doctors treat symptoms, not species.
In the US, the Poison Help line is 1-800-222-1222. This site is a reference, not medical advice.