These ornate spiders are called orchard orbweavers. If you live in the eastern United States, this spider is one of the more commonly seen spiders. They are found from Canada to Brazil. Technically, there are two almost identical looking species. Leucauge venusta and Leucauge argyrobapta are the two species. “Leucauge” in Greek translates to “with a bright gleam”. Leucauge venusta is the more northern species, seen from Canada to Georgia and as far west as Texas. Leucauge argyrobapta is found from Florida south to Brazil. There is no exact delineation between the territories. 

These spiders create intricate webs to catch their prey. Small flies and mosquitos are the primary diet of orchard orbweavers. This orchard orbweaver was waiting in the “hub” (center of the web) for an unsuspecting insect to fly into its sticky and nearly transparent trap. In this photo, you can see a small fly has become entangled in the web. The next step for the orchard orbweaver is to bite into the fly. The orchard orbweaver will then pump a digestive enzyme into the hole it bit using stomach muscle contractions. The digestive enzyme liquifies the internal tissues of the fly. Next, the orchard orbweaver will suck this liquid out of the bite hole, leaving the exoskeleton behind.