Bordered orbweaver
Rather than hiding away by day, this small orb weaver often rests in full view on a silk pad beside its own web, camouflaged among flower heads.
| Where | Flower heads in heathland |
|---|---|
| Size | Female 5.5 to 10.7 mm, male 4.3 to 6.5 mm body length |
| When | May to September |
The Bordered orbweaver has a brown to reddish abdomen marked with a pale, oak-leaf shaped figure bordered in black, edged by a darker longitudinal stripe down the centre.
It builds its web low down among flower heads and grass stems rather than high in shrubs, and feeds on small flying insects that blunder into the sticky spiral. Females are noticeably larger than males.
Traits
Habitat
Heath
Colour
Brown, Red, White
Active
Day and night
To people
Not dangerous to people; it stays beside its web on flower heads rather than approaching people.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Araneus diadematus has a row of white cross-shaped spots down the centre of the abdomen, quite different from the Bordered orbweaver's oak-leaf shaped pale figure bordered in black.
Questions
Is the Bordered orbweaver dangerous to people?
Not dangerous to people; it stays beside its web on flower heads rather than approaching people.
When can you see the Bordered orbweaver?
The Bordered orbweaver can be seen from May to September, by day and at night.
Plate retouched from a museum specimen photo by Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns, CC BY 4.0, GBIF Licence
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Spiders›Orb-weaver spiders›Neoscona
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.