cat-faced orbweaver

(Araneus gemmoides)

Conservation Status
cat-faced orbweaver
Photo by Angela Garrett
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Cat-faced orbweaver is a common, medium-sized, sedentary spider. It occurs in the United States from Washington State to southern California, east to Wisconsin, Missouri, and New Mexico, and in southern Canada from British Columbia east to Manitoba. It is found in summer and fall under ledges, in barns and outbuildings, and on the eaves of houses. In the west it is also found in pine woodlands.

The female is ½ to 1 (13 to 25 mm) in length and has a to ¾ (10 to 20 mm) legspan.

The front part of the body (cephalothorax) is much smaller than the abdomen. The upper side (carapace) is uniformly light brown and is covered with light brown or white hairs. There is a brown or dark brown longitudinal furrow in the middle, but this is often obscured by the lighter hairs. The underside is brown with a pale, longitudinal streak in the middle.

There are eight eyes arranged in two parallel rows of four eyes each. The rear row is curved forward, the front row is straight or slightly curved backward. All of the eyes are small, but the median eyes are larger than the lateral eyes.

The abdomen is large, oval, rounded, and highest in front. There are two low rounded humps in the shoulder (humeral) area. The upper side is light gray to brown. On the front of the abdomen there is a white longitudinal stripe crossed by two V-shaped marks. This is said to resemble the face of a cat and is the feature that gives the spider its common name. These markings vary in intensity and are sometimes difficult to discern but are rarely completely absent. Apart from the “cat face”, the abdomen is unmarked. The base color varies from light grayish-brown to orangish brown and, in the far west, dark brown. Dark individuals have a leaf-shaped marking (folium) on the abdomen.

The legs are long, spiny, and yellowish-brown, with indistinct dark brown rings. The front two pairs project forward, the hind two pairs project backward. The last segment (tarsus) on each leg has three claws at the tip, though these are not visible to the naked eye.

The male is much smaller, 316 to 516 (5.4 to 7.9 mm) in length. The abdomen is elongated and much smaller.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Female Body Length: ½ to 1 (13 to 25 mm)

Male Body Length: 316 to 516 (5.4 to 7.9 mm)

Legspan: to ¾ (10 to 20 mm)

 
     
 

Web

 
 

The web is large and oval. It is called an “orb”, which gives this family of spiders its common name. It has about 20 radii, hangs vertically, and is usually oblong, much taller than wide. A retreat is constructed at one side of the web.

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

 

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

 

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

 

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

Eggs are laid in the fall, overwinter, and hatch in the spring. Hatchlings survive by eating their siblings. Mature adults are active in summer and fall.

 
     
 

Food

 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

24, 29, 30, 82.

 
  11/11/2022      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Common

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Class Arachnida (arachnids)  
 

Order

Araneae (spiders)  
 

Suborder

Araneomorphae (typical spiders)  
  Infraorder Entelegynae (entelegyne spiders)  
  Superfamily Araneoidea (araneoid spiders)  
 

Family

Araneidae (orbweavers)  
 

Subfamily

Araneinae (typical orbweavers)  
 

Genus

Araneus (angulate and roundshouldered orbweavers)  
       
 

This spider was originally classified as Araneus gemma. In 1888 McCook separated that species into three distinct species, A. gemma, A. gemmoides, and A. pirus. A. gemma is the western species and does not occur in Minnesota. A. gemmoides range overlaps the entire range of A. gemma and extends further east into Wisconsin. A. pirus is now considered a synonym of A. gemma. Where A. gemma and A. gemmoides both occur, interbreeding takes place freely and there is a complete intergradation of characteristics. Some females cannot be assigned to either species.

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

 

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

cat-faced orbweaver

catfaced spider

cat-faced spider

jewel spider

plains orbweaver

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Carapace

The hard, upper (dorsal), shell-like covering (exoskeleton) of the body or at least the thorax of many arthropods and of turtles and tortoises. On crustaceans, it covers the cephalothorax. On spiders, the top of the cephalothorax made from a series of fused sclerites.

 

Cephalothorax

The front part of the body of various arthropods, composed of the head region and the thoracic area fused together. Eyes, legs, and antennae are attached to this part.

 

Folium

On some spiders, the leaf-shaped marking on the upper side of the abdomen.

 

 

 

 

 
 
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Angela Garrett

 
 

Male

 
    cat-faced orbweaver      
           
 
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Other Videos
 
  Araneus gemmoides (cat-faced/jewel spider)
Treyton Johnson
 
   
 
About

Sep 18, 2019

 
  Cat-faced Orb Weaver Spider - Meal Preparation
Garth Kroeker
 
   
 
About

Aug 20, 2011

This is an orb weaver spider who lives in a corner of our deck, preparing a meal worm for a later snack.

 
  Cat-Faced Spider Web Weaving and Feeding (Jewel Spider) (Araneus gemmoides)
Alexei Muravsky
 
   
 
About

Sep 18, 2022

This was filmed in Winnipeg, Canada around September.

 

 

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  Angela Garrett
7/21/2021

Location: Milaca, MN

Male

cat-faced orbweaver  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

 

 

 

 

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Created: 11/12/2022

Last Updated:

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