Western Spotted Orb Weaver

Description:

This species is fairly large with females ranging from 11-17 mm in body length and males 5-12 mm. This one was a good size, about 15 mm, (I didn't want to touch it), lol. At first I had a hard time I.D. the spider but then found out that as far as color and pattern, no two specimens are alike. Like zebras have a unique pattern of stripes, so too, do individual N. oaxacenis spiders. The one thing that is consistent on each spider is the dark strip markings on the legs as seen in the photo. Their web may span from 9 cm to over 39 cm wide, (3.5 to 15 inches), and at a height of 1.3 to 1.7 meters, (4-5 feet), off the ground for larger spiders, this one was at least 36 inches off the ground, spanning across some flower climbing rails in my garden.

Habitat:

This is the first one I have seen for many years in my garden. This species ranges from Texas to Kansas, Illinois, and Indiana, and west to Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, and eastern Washington state. Also parts of Mexico and Central America to Peru. They prefer warm climates but try to avoid direct sun light due to dehydration.

Notes:

Their food consists of flying insects and moths. Just about anything that can get caught in the web will become a meal for this large spider.