Garden orb weaving spider fact sheet | Field of Mars EEC

What are garden orb weaving spiders?

Garden orb weaving spiders are web-building spiders often seen in gardens and bushland after dark. This fact sheet focuses on the common Australian garden orb weaving spider, Hortophora transmarina, which older sources may call Eriophora transmarina. They belong to a group called orb-weaving spiders because they build round, wheel-shaped webs. These webs are placed in gaps between shrubs, trees and other plants where insects are likely to fly.

During the day, garden orb weaving spiders usually hide nearby on leaves, bark or other sheltered places. At night, they move onto their web and wait for prey. If you walk through bushland or a garden at night, you may notice their large webs stretched across open spaces.

Garden orb weaving spider.

A garden orb weaving spider waits in the centre of its web at night.

What do garden orb weaving spiders look like?

Garden orb weaving spiders are usually brown, reddish-brown or grey, but their colours and patterns can vary. They often have a large, rounded or triangular abdomen with a leaf-shaped pattern, pale markings or a pale stripe. Their legs are long and hairy, and females are usually larger than males.

Garden orb weaving spiders can look very different from each other. Some are pale and sandy-coloured, while others are darker brown, reddish or almost black. Their patterns help them blend in with bark, leaves and shadows while they rest during the day.

Garden orb weaving spiders can vary in colour and pattern, helping them blend in with leaves and bark.

A male garden orb weaving spider. Males are often smaller than females, although they can still be quite large.

Where do garden orb weaving spiders live?

Garden orb weaving spiders live in gardens, parks, forests and bushland. They build webs between branches, shrubs, tree trunks, fences or other supports. Their webs are often found in open spaces where flying insects are likely to pass through.

At Field of Mars Reserve, garden orb weaving spiders may be found in places with shrubs, trees and open gaps between vegetation. They are easiest to notice at night when their webs catch torchlight.

Garden orb weaving spiders build sticky, wheel-shaped webs in open spaces where insects fly.

What do garden orb weaving spiders eat?

Garden orb weaving spiders are predators. They catch flying insects in their sticky webs, including flies, moths, beetles, bugs and sometimes larger insects such as cicadas. When an insect hits the web, the spider senses the vibrations through the silk. It then moves quickly to the prey, wraps it in silk and bites it.

Garden orb weaving spiders help control insect numbers in gardens and bushland. They are also part of the food web because birds, reptiles and other animals may eat them.

Garden orb weaving spiders catch insects in sticky silk and wrap them before feeding.

What is the life cycle of a garden orb weaving spider?

Garden orb weaving spiders hatch from eggs. A female lays her eggs in late summer or autumn inside a fluffy silk egg sac attached to leaves or another nearby structure. Tiny spiderlings hatch from the eggs and disperse through the vegetation. Some spiderlings use fine strands of silk to float on the breeze, a behaviour called ballooning.

The spiderlings build tiny orb webs and grow through several moults. They become adults in summer. Adult females usually live for about one year.

Orb-weaver spiderlings near an egg sac. This image shows another orb-weaver species; garden orb weaving spider young are also tiny when they hatch.

What adaptations do garden orb weaving spiders have to help them survive?

Garden orb weaving spiders have many adaptations that help them survive. Their sticky orb webs trap flying insects, while the spider’s legs can sense vibrations moving through the silk. This helps the spider know when prey has landed in the web.

Their silk is also an important adaptation. Garden orb weaving spiders use silk to build webs, wrap prey and protect their eggs. Their colours and patterns help them hide on leaves, bark and branches during the day. Being mostly active at night also helps them avoid some predators and catch insects that fly after dark.

Long legs, sticky silk and vibration-sensitive hairs help garden orb weaving spiders detect prey.

Why are garden orb weaving spiders important?

Garden orb weaving spiders are important predators in bushland and garden food webs. By catching flying insects, they help keep insect populations balanced. They are also food for other animals, including birds, reptiles and other predators.

Their webs are also a fascinating example of animal engineering. A garden orb weaving spider can build a strong, sticky web using only silk from its own body.

A garden orb weaving spider wraps captured prey in silk.

How can you help garden orb weaving spiders?

You can help garden orb weaving spiders by protecting shrubs, trees and leaf litter in gardens and bushland. Native plants provide places for spiders to hide, build webs and find prey.

Avoid using pesticides unless they are really needed, because pesticides can harm spiders and the insects they depend on. If you find a garden orb weaving spider web across a path, walk around it if you can. If the web needs to be moved for safety, ask an adult to gently move the support strands rather than harming the spider.

Native plants provide places for garden orb weaving spiders to hide, build webs and find prey.

Related fact sheets

More invertebrate fact sheets

• Invertebrate fact sheets – overview
• Arachnids fact sheet – learn about spiders, mites and other arachnids.
• Wolf spider fact sheet – compare a web-building spider with a ground-hunting spider.
• Net-casting spider fact sheet – another night-active spider that uses silk to catch prey.
• Jumping spider fact sheet – a day-active spider with excellent eyesight.
• Black house spider fact sheet – a spider that builds a different kind of web.
• Lynx spider fact sheet – a plant-dwelling spider that hunts without a capture web.

Habitats and ecosystems

• Shrub habitats fact sheet – shrubs provide web supports, shelter and insect prey.
• Tree habitats fact sheet – trees provide shelter, bark crevices and web-building spaces.
• Eucalypt forest fact sheet – explains the local bushland habitat at Field of Mars Reserve.
• Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet – learn about the reserve habitats that support spiders and other invertebrates.

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