Mabel orchard orbweaver
Its silvery, mirror-bright abdomen gives this small orbweaver a jewel-like shine, and each morning it eats its own web and spins a fresh one before dawn.
| Where | Gardens and shrubs, southeastern United States |
|---|---|
| Size | Female 5.5 to 7.5 mm, male 3.5 to 4 mm body length |
| When | March to January |
The Mabel orchard orbweaver is small and slender, with a silvery abdomen marked by dark streaks and long, pale green legs. It hangs upside down at the center of a small, neat orb web, often low in shrubs, vines or garden vegetation.
Females take down their web most mornings before dawn and rebuild close to the same spot day after day. Found in gardens, shrubs and damp, sheltered vegetation across the southeastern United States and south into Mexico and Central America, adults can be seen for most of the year wherever frost is rare.
Traits
Habitat
Garden
Colour
Green, Metallic, Brown
Active
Day and night
To people
Not known to bite people; if found on a porch or among garden plants, it can safely be left in place, since it helps control small flying insects.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Has a slender, elongated cylindrical abdomen and rests with its long front legs stretched straight out along grass stems, unlike the orchard orbweaver's rounder silvery abdomen and legs spread evenly around its web.
Questions
Is the Mabel orchard orbweaver dangerous to people?
Not known to bite people; if found on a porch or among garden plants, it can safely be left in place, since it helps control small flying insects.
When can you see the Mabel orchard orbweaver?
The Mabel orchard orbweaver can be seen from March to January, by day and at night.
Plate retouched from a photo by artemis224, CC0, iNaturalist Licence
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Spiders›Long-jawed orb weavers›Leucauge
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.