Spinybacked orbweaver
This spider's abdomen is flattened, wider than long and ringed with up to six hardened spines, a shape shared by almost no other orbweaver in the region.
| Where | Woodland edges, gardens and citrus groves |
|---|---|
| Size | Female 5 to 9 mm, male 2 to 3 mm body length |
| When | January to December |
The Spinybacked orbweaver has a hard, flattened white or yellow abdomen wider than it is long, edged with up to six black or reddish spines, above short black legs. The whole body looks armored and disc-like compared with the soft, rounded abdomens of most other orbweavers.
Females rebuild their orb web daily in a sunny gap between shrubs, garden edges or citrus trees, sitting head down at the center to wait for flying insects. In the warmer parts of its range it can be found active in almost any month of the year.
Traits
Habitat
Garden
Colour
White, Black
Active
Day
To people
This spider is not known to bite people in any harmful way; the main risk is an accidental scratch from its hard abdominal spines if it is handled.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
An elongated, unflattened abdomen with two pairs of long spines projecting sideways, rather than the flattened, crab shaped abdomen with up to six short spines of the Spinybacked orbweaver.
Questions
Is the Spinybacked orbweaver dangerous to people?
This spider is not known to bite people in any harmful way; the main risk is an accidental scratch from its hard abdominal spines if it is handled.
When can you see the Spinybacked orbweaver?
The Spinybacked orbweaver can be seen from January to December, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by geosesarma, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist Licence
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Spiders›Orb-weaver spiders›Gasteracantha
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.