It is not uncommon to come across an orange spider. Often the orange coloration is confused with brown, making orange a common color in spiders.
Have you seen an orange spider in your home or yard and are wondering what it was? Continue reading below for information on the most common orange spiders in the United States.
18 Common Orange Spiders
The 18 common orange spiders in the United States include:
1. Marbled Orbweaver
Scientific name: Araneus marmoreus.
Common name: marbled orbweaver, pumpkin spider.
The marbled orb weaver has a unique marbled pattern of colors on its abdomen. The orange head and upper legs, along with black and white banding on the lower legs, make this an attractive spider.
Some of the marbled orb weavers have an orange and yellow abdomen, some black and orange. They create circular webs in wooded areas, never too far from water. Females, which are larger than the males, tend to stay in their retreats.
The female lays orange eggs, which are attached in a silken sac on the retreat, where she will guard them. Even though they can grow to a large size, they are not aggressive towards humans.
2. European Garden Spider
Scientific name: Araneus diadematus.
Common name: European garden spider, diadem spider, orangie, cross spider, crowned orb weaver, pumpkin spider.
The European garden spider is also known as the orange cross spider or pumpkin spider. This spider is native to Europe and has been introduced to North America.
Females grow to 20mm in body length, while the males are smaller, growing to around 13mm in body length. Their colors range from a pale yellow/brown to almost black, many look orange.
There are mottled white markings on the abdomen and four or more segments that form a cross.
3. Woodlouse Spider
Scientific name: Dysdera crocata.
Common name: woodlouse hunter, sowbug hunter, sowbug killer, pillbug hunter, slater spider.
Woodlouse spiders feed o woodlice, with females growing to 15mm and males to 10mm in body length. They have an orange to red-colored cephalothorax and legs with a pale beige to yellow/brown abdomen.
This species is from the Mediterranean, introduced to North and South America, it is also very seldom found near human settlements.
4. Brown Widow
Scientific name: Latrodectus geometricus.
Common name: brown widow, brown button spider, grey widow, brown black widow, house button spider, geometric button spider.
The brown widow or brown button spider is a widow spider with black and white patterning on the sides and an orange to yellow hourglass shape on the belly. They are believed to have originated in South America.
They are usually found close to buildings in tropical areas in the United States, including Hawaii. Their venom is neurotoxic, but they are not as dangerous as the black widow. Bites are confined to the bite area and surrounding tissues.
5. Shamrock Orbweaver
Scientific name: Araneus trifolium.
Common name: Shamrock orb weaver.
Shamrock orb weavers can be found throughout the United States. They vary in color from brown or beige, though some are orange or yellow. They are sometimes confused with the marbled orb weaver.
The shamrock orb weaver. has white dots on the back, which helps identify it. Their bites are painful but are not considered dangerous to humans. Their bite is no worse than a bee sting.
6. Striped Lynx Spider
Scientific name: Oxyopes salticus.
Common name: striped lynx spider.
The striped lynx spider was first described in 1845. it can be found in leafy vegetation, weedy fields, row crops, and grasses. Adults vary in color from orange to brown or cream.
The female has stripes on her carapace and abdomen with a diamond mark. Females can grow to 6mm, while males only grow to 5mm in body length. They are common in the Eastern United States from Massachusetts to Texas.
7. Orange Baboon Tarantula
Scientific name: Pterinochilus murinus.
Common name: Orange baboon tarantula, Mombasa golden starburst tarantula.
The orange baboon tarantula was first described in 1897 on the African continent. They are popular as exotic pets for their orange color.
This is a very defensive tarantula, an old-world tarantula that should never be held. Their bites are not considered serious, but they can be exceptionally painful. They are willing to inflict a bite, which is why caution is advised.
The orange baboon tarantula can grow to 15cm in size. Males are smaller at around 10cm. They are the uniform color from their abdomen, carapace to their legs. The legs often have a colored ring pattern.
There is a star-shaped pattern on the abdomen. The body is covered with short hairs and long hairs on the legs. They are burrowing spiders and are not common in pet stores, even though they are very popular in the exotic pet trade.
8. Spotted Orbweaver
Scientific name: Neoscona crucifera.
Common name: Hentz orbweaver, spotted orbweaver, barn spider.
The spotted orb weaver can build a circular web reaching two feet in diameter. They hide in the day in a curled leaf near their webs. Their color varies from tan to orange or red.
They have bristles on their head, thorax, abdomen, and legs. These spiders can be found in gardens, backyards, fields, and parks. They are nocturnal, so seldom seen during the day.
9. American Nursery Web Spider
Scientific name: Pisaurina mira.
Common name: American nursery web spider.
The American nursery web spider has a narrow abdomen. The cephalothorax is a hard covering for protection. Their abdomens are bulb-like.
Males and females are similar in size, with females being slightly larger at around 15mm in length. They are a yellow/brown color with a light or dark band down the center of their back. There is a white border on the abdomen.
These large spiders are often confused with wolf spiders. American nursery web spiders are excellent parents that carry their egg sac with care, placing it in a hidden space and protecting it.
10. Arrowhead Orbweaver
Scientific name: Verrucosa arenata.
Common name: Triangle orb weaver, Arrowhead spider.
The arrowhead orb weaver is common in North America and a well-known and large orb weaver that sits facing upwards in its web. They have a pointed and triangular-shaped abdomen, which is similar to the tip of an arrow.
They can be found in urban and rural habitats where there are plenty of trees and bushes to spin their webs. They are more common in late summer and early fall.
Females can grow to around 14mm in body length with males being half the size. The abdomen color ranges from white to yellow with red markings on the abdomen. Females tend to have brown, black, or rusty orange color on their legs and carapace.
Their abdomens have a yellow or white triangle, which males often lack.
11. Garden Ghost Spider
Scientific name: Hibana gracilis.
Common name: Garden ghost spider.
The garden ghost spider can grow to half an inch in size with jaws that move side to side. Their eight eyes are closely grouped with an elongated abdomen. These spiders can be brown and yellow or being green-yellow, some often confused as orange.
They are distributed in North America, especially in Florida. These spiders are active hunters and hide in their retreats during the day. They are not harmful to humans, though their bites can be painful, about as bad as a bee sting.
12. Black-tailed Red Sheetweaver
Scientific name: Florinda coccinea.
Common name: Black-tailed Red Sheetweaver.
This spider is also known as the red grass spider and is a dwarf spider, first described in 1896. It is common in the southeastern United States, where it lives in agricultural fields and grasslands.
This red spider is often confused as deep orange, growing to 4mm in length. The female is slightly larger than the male. They create horizontal sheets of webbing, which is not sticky and has a tangle of stopping threads above.
Stopping threads intercept any flying prey, causing them to fall into the sheet below, which is when the spider strikes.
13. Whitman’s Jumping Spider
Scientific name: Phidippus whitmani.
Common name: Whitman’s Jumping Spider.
Jumping spiders are harmless and interesting spiders. The Whiteman’s jumping spider is red on top with black banding on the frontal eye region. Females are brown, while males are brightly colored.
These spiders mimic the mutillid wasp and are distributed throughout the United States.
14. Cardinal Jumping Spider
Scientific name: Phidippus cardinalis.
Common name: Cardinal jumping spider.
Cardinal jumping spiders are small spiders with the female being larger than the male. They have a red carapace, black bands on the dorsal abdomen, and hairy black legs. The red is often confused with orange.
The carapace is oval and they do not spin webs to capture their prey. These spiders can jump more than four times their body length from standing, using it to ambush prey and escape predators.
The cardinal jumping spider is completely harmless to humans, seldom biting and using fleeing as their main form of escape.
15. Gem-shaped Orbweaver
Scientific name: Araneus gemma.
Common name: cat-faced spider.
Gem-shaped orb weavers are also known as jewel spiders or cat-faced spiders. They are common outdoor spiders in the United States and are completely harmless to humans.
Their webs are often located near lights, on the side of buildings, and in closed spaces. They can also be seen under overhangs and wood. Their colors are varied, some often looking a light orange color. They have two horn shapes on their abdomen.
These spiders tend to change their coloration from summer to winter.
16. Apache Jumping Spider
Scientific name: Phidippus apacheanus.
Common name: Apache Jumping Spider.
The apache jumping spider can be found in the southwestern United States and is common in Utah and Nebraska, Texas, and Arizona. These spiders prefer fields, deserts, and dry grasslands, often seen on shrubs and vegetation in dry areas.
These spiders are large jumping spiders that can grow to 22mm in large gravid females. They have incandescent green chelicerae. Females are black with orange on their cephalothorax and abdomen. There is often a black stripe on the abdomen.
Dorsal coloration is yellow, orange, or red, while they have a black underside. Males are more of a red/orange color.
17. Black-banded Crab Spider
Scientific name: Synema parvulum.
Common name: Black-banded Crab Spider.
The black-banded crab spider has longer front legs than other spiders. Their back legs are shorter, which gives them the appearance of a crab. They are also able to walk forwards, sideways, and backward.
This crab spider is a small red/brown spider with a wide and round abdomen. The abdomen has a black crescent shape, making the spider look as though it was dipped in black ink.
These are ambush spiders, lying in wait on flowers and capturing pollinating insects, often much larger than themselves. They are not known to bite humans.
18. Orange Ant-mimic Sac Spider
Scientific name: Castianeira amoena.
Common name: Orange Ant-mimic Sac Spider.
The orange ant mimic sac spider was first described in 1879 and is native to North America. These spiders have eight eyes with an elongated or oval-shaped opisthosoma.
They are small and fast spiders with similar coloration to ants. They blend in with their food source. They are known to rub their front pair of legs together, raising them up in the air to look like ant antennae.
Their resemblance to ants, could also be a defense mechanism with ants tasting awful to mammals, insects, and birds. Females are slightly large than males, living on smaller insects.
They can be found where you would find ants, in gardens, woods, under stones, and in fields.
Are Orange Spiders Poisonous?
It’s not uncommon to see orange spiders or what looks like an orange spider in North America. The good news is that they are not considered dangerous to humans. Most will give a painful bite but are not considered medically significant.
The only orange spider of concern is the brown widow, with an orange hourglass shape on the belly. This spider may not be as poisonous as the black widow, but they still give a painful bite, with redness and swelling, which is limited to the bite area.
Summary
There are a number of spiders that are orange, have orange on them or look orange, due to their red/brown or yellow/brown coloration. The spiders listed mostly live outdoors but can be encountered in back yards and inside homes from time to time.
Being able to identify an orange spider will help you know if you should be concerned and the safest way to remove it from the home.
Further Reading: