Garden Spider / Yellow Garden Spider

Natural Habitat

Gardens, fields, forest edges, and anywhere with tall vegetation to support their webs. Often found in sunny areas.

Diet & Feeding

Insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, flies, bees, wasps, and other flying insects that get caught in their large, intricate webs.

Behavior Patterns

Known for building very large, intricate orb webs, often with a distinctive zigzag pattern (stabilimentum) in the center or a vertical band. Females hang head-down in the center of the web. They are generally non-aggressive and will flee if disturbed. They commonly build their webs at night and may consume and rebuild parts of their web daily. Females produce large, round egg sacs.

Risks & Benefits

Potential risks are minimal; their venom is not considered dangerous to humans. A bite might cause localized pain, swelling, or redness, similar to a bee sting, but allergic reactions are rare. Benefits include significant pest control, as they capture and consume many common garden and agricultural insect pests.

Identified on: 9/24/2025