The Barn spider is an orb-weaving nocturnal species, indigenous to North America, mostly found during late summers and throughout autumn.
Size: They exhibit sexual dimorphism when it comes to size as the females who are 0.47 inches to 0.62 inches (12 mm to 16 mm) long are bigger than their male counterparts that are 0.23 inches to 0.39 inches (6 mm to 10 mm).
Color: These spiders are yellow or brown, with grey or dark stripes on their legs. The lower part of their body is black with white markings.
Other characteristic features: The Barn spider has a hairy body alongside a big, round-shaped abdomen with numerous small humps.
The egg sac made using silken thread resembles a cocoon. A single sac has hundreds of eggs within that are round or disc shaped.
Though not much is known about the size of the spiderlings, they get on their own within a short span after hatching.
Being orb weavers, their webs are flat and spiral shaped, made of sticky and less sticky threads to capture prey and support the structure of the web respectively. The webs are mostly spun by the females, who take it down in the day and build a new one every evening. At night they wait in the middle of the web to attack any prey that enters it.
They are not poisonous as their venom is said to be nontoxic to human beings. However, their bite might be equaled to a bee sting, causing redness and irritation in the affected area.
| Lifespan | Approximately one year |
| Distribution | North eastern parts of the United States and Canada |
| Habitat | Wooden structures like rafters, barns and even on boats |
| Predators | Birds and other spiders |
| Diet | Several insects like beetles, ants, moths, flies and mosquitoes |
Image Credits: A4.pbase.com, Wikihow.com, Encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com, D.facdn.net, Farm6.staticflickr.com, C2.staticflickr.com
The Barn spider is an orb-weaving nocturnal species, indigenous to North America, mostly found during late summers and throughout autumn.
Size: They exhibit sexual dimorphism when it comes to size as the females who are 0.47 inches to 0.62 inches (12 mm to 16 mm) long are bigger than their male counterparts that are 0.23 inches to 0.39 inches (6 mm to 10 mm).
Color: These spiders are yellow or brown, with grey or dark stripes on their legs. The lower part of their body is black with white markings.
Other characteristic features: The Barn spider has a hairy body alongside a big, round-shaped abdomen with numerous small humps.
The egg sac made using silken thread resembles a cocoon. A single sac has hundreds of eggs within that are round or disc shaped.
Though not much is known about the size of the spiderlings, they get on their own within a short span after hatching.
Being orb weavers, their webs are flat and spiral shaped, made of sticky and less sticky threads to capture prey and support the structure of the web respectively. The webs are mostly spun by the females, who take it down in the day and build a new one every evening. At night they wait in the middle of the web to attack any prey that enters it.
They are not poisonous as their venom is said to be nontoxic to human beings. However, their bite might be equaled to a bee sting, causing redness and irritation in the affected area.
| Lifespan | Approximately one year |
| Distribution | North eastern parts of the United States and Canada |
| Habitat | Wooden structures like rafters, barns and even on boats |
| Predators | Birds and other spiders |
| Diet | Several insects like beetles, ants, moths, flies and mosquitoes |
Image Credits: A4.pbase.com, Wikihow.com, Encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com, D.facdn.net, Farm6.staticflickr.com, C2.staticflickr.com
James Lambrou on February 1, 2019.
Dr. Watuwa James
© 2023 (Spider Identifications). All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
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