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Comments & ID Thoughts
Marbled Orb Spinner
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Jul 30, 2018
- Photographed: Jul 30, 2018
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: Topsham, Maine, United States
- Spotted Outdoors: Man-made structure (building wall, fences, etc.)
- Found in web?: No
- Attributes:
Saw this spider near the roof of my shed. At first thought it might be dangerous. Looked it up and it seems to be a marbled orb spinner. Too beautiful to kill and doing me a favor catching mosquitoes and flies.
Excuse me – I meant aureanus – orb-weaver. Not sure which type of orb-weaver.
From the color and pattern, I believe that is the Giant Lichen Orb Weaver, Araneus bicentenarius
Thank you. I assume it is not among poisonous varieties. I just want to know if it is a friendly type.
Hi, they certainly are not dangerous or aggressive. It’s tough to say they are not poisonous as all spiders (except two small familes) have venom, so virtually all spiders are venomous, but that’s like saying all wasps are venomous. Only a few species of spiders are particularly aggressive or have potent venom that makes them medically important. This one is not one of those.
Hi. well, all of the orb weavers produce venom and capable of biting,but it take some serious provoking to make them bite.Maybe walking through a web, getting the spider trapped under a shirt collar. Mishandling, trapped between fingers.
No more dangerous than a mild bee sting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEawLFOAH0A
I prefer to leave them undisturbed, but rescued a couple in harms way, put into bushes out of the way.
People ask, I usually say no, they don’t bite. Very docile and passive spiders.