Taxonomy Of Butterfly Orbweaver

Arthropoda » Chelicerata » Arachnida  » Araneae » Araneidae » Araneus » Pegnia

Image Credit: Eric Eaton

Physical Description

This small orbweaver has a distinctive shape on its abdomen. As you may have guessed it has a general shape of a butterfly on it and the spider’s colors will range from yellows, tans, browns, and greys. Its legs are striped with dark brown/black to yellow/very light beige. It typically has a bulbous shaped abdomen.

Location & Habitat

The orbweaver family is very common, hence the fact that this particular one is located in many areas. Areas as far north as Massachusetts on down through Ohio, Indiana, the Atlantic and Gulf Coast States, and over in Arizona and California is where this spider can be found. It has also been found in Ecuador, the Bahamas, Cuba, and Jamaica. As far as its preferred habitat, it has noticeable liked being near wetlands such as bogs, rivers, streams, and other bodies of water. They probably prefer these areas because of the abundance of smaller insects the water attracts as well. These spiders are very active during the night, but they may not technically be nocturnal by definition. Their activity times most likely range from region to region depending on when its web-traffic is the highest in the day so they don’t miss out on any potential prey getting away.

Prey & Predators

This particular orbweaver is a favorite prey to the black and yellow mud dauber wasp. The wasp uses the immature spiders as food for its larvae. This meaning, that many of the adult females’ hatchlings never make it to full maturity to be able to reproduce themselves. The orbweaver itself feeds on any insects that are captured in its web which could range from flying to jumping insects or other arthropods as well.

Harmful to Humans?

These small spiders are not at all harmful to humans. They are not aggressive in any way and would much rather flee the scene that comes in contact with a human. It is very docile much like the rest of the orbweaver family.

Other Names