Furrow spider of the orb-weaver family has a Holarctic distribution, found throughout North Africa, Europe, certain parts of Asia, North America, and South America.
Size: Females are 0.23-0.55 inches (0.6-1.4 cm) while males measure 0.19-0.35 inches (0.48-0.88 cm).
Color: Their body color varies from black to white or even different shades of red.
Other Characteristic Features: The furrow spider appears large with an oval-shaped bulbous abdomen. An arrow-like pattern is also observed on their cephalothorax and legs. They have six eyes placed in a horizontal row, with an extra pair lying above the middle of the row.
Females lay around 3-5 yellow eggs in a silken sac hidden under leaves or a cocoon.
By the time spiderlings emerge, both of their parents die, so they live independently from the beginning. They attain sexual maturity between 4 and 18 months.
They build orb webs close to the ground, mostly on damp vegetation or shrublands. Each night, they consume the web and then make a new one the next evening.
They are venomous for insects and their prey, but for humans, they are not a threat. However, these spiders could bite if provoked, the intensity of which is not more than a bee sting.
| Other Names | Furrow orb spider, foliate spider |
| Distribution | United States, Canada, eastern and southern Alaska, Japan, Eastern China, Egypt, Kamchatka Peninsula, and northeastern Algeria |
| Habitat | Mostly in moist areas near waterbodies, and also in bridges, barns, and houses |
| Diet | Gnats, mosquitoes, and damselflies |
| Predators | Black and yellow mud daubers, and birds |
| Web Type | Orb web |
| IUCN Conservation Status | Not listed |
Image Credits: Nature.mdc.mo.gov, Fbcdn.net, Usaspiders.com, Bugguide.net, Cirrusimage.com
Furrow spider of the orb-weaver family has a Holarctic distribution, found throughout North Africa, Europe, certain parts of Asia, North America, and South America.
Size: Females are 0.23-0.55 inches (0.6-1.4 cm) while males measure 0.19-0.35 inches (0.48-0.88 cm).
Color: Their body color varies from black to white or even different shades of red.
Other Characteristic Features: The furrow spider appears large with an oval-shaped bulbous abdomen. An arrow-like pattern is also observed on their cephalothorax and legs. They have six eyes placed in a horizontal row, with an extra pair lying above the middle of the row.
Females lay around 3-5 yellow eggs in a silken sac hidden under leaves or a cocoon.
By the time spiderlings emerge, both of their parents die, so they live independently from the beginning. They attain sexual maturity between 4 and 18 months.
They build orb webs close to the ground, mostly on damp vegetation or shrublands. Each night, they consume the web and then make a new one the next evening.
They are venomous for insects and their prey, but for humans, they are not a threat. However, these spiders could bite if provoked, the intensity of which is not more than a bee sting.
| Other Names | Furrow orb spider, foliate spider |
| Distribution | United States, Canada, eastern and southern Alaska, Japan, Eastern China, Egypt, Kamchatka Peninsula, and northeastern Algeria |
| Habitat | Mostly in moist areas near waterbodies, and also in bridges, barns, and houses |
| Diet | Gnats, mosquitoes, and damselflies |
| Predators | Black and yellow mud daubers, and birds |
| Web Type | Orb web |
| IUCN Conservation Status | Not listed |
Image Credits: Nature.mdc.mo.gov, Fbcdn.net, Usaspiders.com, Bugguide.net, Cirrusimage.com
