Furrow Orb Weaver

The newly spun webs are sticky and help catch prey better

This stealthy spider is called a furrow orb weaver. I was hiking on Macinac Island in Michigan when I came across this spider resting in the curl of a leaf. If you look closely, you will see the network of webs surrounding the area. The furrow orb weaver spider will take down and rebuild this network of webs every night. The newly spun webs are sticky and help catch prey better. These webs are generally close to the ground. Furrow orb weavers like areas near water, probably because their diet consists of mosquitos, damselflies, and gnats which live around water.

Crab Spider

Furrow orb weaver spiders are venomous. They use this venom when they bite their prey. As a human, if you get bit by a furrow orb weaver spider it may be painful, but it won’t be deadly. The symptoms of a bite may include swelling, numbness, and mild pain.

Here is another photo of the furrow orb weaver sitting in the center of a web.

Notice the upper part of the front legs are red, otherwise most of the coloration is brown, black, and cream. The legs are striped. The furrow orb spider has a horizontal row of six eyes, with two additional eyes stacked on top in the center. If you look closely, you can see one of these eyes peeking through.

Wolf Spider

Macinac Island sits pretty far north, near where the upper peninsula meets the rest of Michigan. Unlike most spiders, furrow orb weavers will survive through these freezing winters and live for up to two years.

Sometimes after mating, the female orb weaver will eat the male! This is not unusual behavior amongst spiders. Females typically lay between three to five yellow eggs in the summer. Tragically, both spider parents typically die before their eggs hatch. The newborn spiders are independent from the beginning.

Sometimes after mating, the female orb weaver will eat the male

Did you know?

Furrow orb weavers are also known as foliate spiders.
Female furrow orb weaver spiders grow to be larger than the males.
Furrow orb weaver spiders do not have ears; however, they can sense sound from hairs on their legs.
Dragonflies and birds are the primary predators of furrow orb weaver spiders.
Furrow orb weaver spiders can be found all over the world! They can be found in North and South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe.