Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Chelicerates (Chelicerata) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynae » Orb Weavers (Araneidae) » Araneus » Marbled Orbweaver (Araneus marmoreus)

Species Araneus marmoreus - Marbled Orbweaver

Spider - friend or foe ?? - Araneus marmoreus

Marbled Orbweaver - Araneus marmoreus - female

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Orange-legged Orbweaver - Araneus marmoreus

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Chelicerata (Chelicerates)

Class Arachnida (Arachnids)

Order Araneae (Spiders)

Infraorder Araneomorphae (True Spiders)

No Taxon (Entelegynae)

Family Araneidae (Orb Weavers)

Genus Araneus

Species marmoreus (Marbled Orbweaver)

Other Common Names

Marbled Orb Weaver, Pumpkin Spider

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

See the World Spider Catalog.

Explanation of Names

Araneus marmoreus Clerck, 1757

Latin "of or like marble" from marmor- "marble"

Size

Female: 9-18 mm; male: 6-9 mm (1)

Identification

Adult Female

Epigyne (ventral/lateral)

Range

Alaska to Newfoundland, south to Oregon, Utah, sourthern Texas, and South Carolina. (2)

Remarks

John Sloan posted a series of images showing some of the variation in this species. Here are those and more to give a feeling of the possibilities:

Typical orange:

Becoming a shrivelled late fall Orange (the abdomen is shrivelled because the spider has lost body mass from laying its eggs):

Can be pale orange to beige:

but commonly bright yellow:

though sometimes pale yellow to white:

to an overall creamy white:

or, different colors surrounding a black patch! See discussion here.

the colors can be almost black and white:

or dark with dull yellow:

to very dark:

to red:

Works Cited

1.	How to Know the Spiders B. J. Kaston. 1978. WCB/McGraw-Hill.

2.	The Orb-weaving Spiders of Canada and Alaska - The Insects and Arachnids of Canada Part 23 Dondale, C.D., J.H. Redner, P, Paquin and H.W. Levi. 2003. NRC Research Press.

Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 1:20pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, john and jane balaban, Lynette Elliott, cheins, Chuck Entz, kschnei, jsloan
Last updated 14 January, 2023 - 5:22pm

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