Barn Spider

Cavaticus a play on the barn.

Barn spider. It is about three quarters of an inch long with a large round abdomen. White s charlotte s web where it was called charlotte a. Barn spiders araneus cavaticus are a beneficial species of arachnids commonly found in eastern north america and do not pose any threat to humans or domestic animals many readers may be familiar with the barn spider from the popular children s book charlotte s web by e. The barn spider araneus cavaticus is a nocturnal yellow and brown spider with striped legs and a marking on its underside that is typically a black background with two white marks inside the black although color ranges can be quite magnificent.

The eponymous charlotte is a barn spider that white cleverly named charlotte a. Araneus cavaticus is often confused with neoscona crucifera. White with a particularly interesting point that the spider s full name is charlotte a. It is one of the common members of missouri s spotted orbweavers in genus neoscona the different species can be difficult to distinguish.

These can be differentiated by two main features. Like other common house spiders barn spiders primarily eat flying insects like mosquitoes flies beetles and moths. Cavatica a reference to the barn spider s scientific name araneus cavaticus. Barn spiders araneus cavaticus despite their common name can be found near a variety of buildings porches and caves in addition to barns they are part of a family of spiders called orb weavers so called because they spin their webs in a circular shape.

The marbled orb weaver spider is a striking spider that attracts attention because of its typical bright orange color though specimens vary from orange to beige to pale yellow and white. The barn spider is the model for charlotte in e b. They do this by capturing these insects in their sticky symmetrical orb webs that often measure between two and three feet wide though some webs can be as large as 10 feet in diameter. A widespread species the barn spider commonly builds its webs in woods and on the eaves of barns houses and similar structures.

In popular culture edit this spider was made well known in the book charlotte s web by american writer e. Cavatica the last name corresponding to its scientific name. Araneus cavaticus is most often sighted outdoors and during. Based on collected data the geographic range for araneus cavaticus includes 2 countries and 2 states in the united states.

1 araneus cavaticus has shoulders near the front on the dorsal side of the abdomen. See the world spider catalog. White s famous book charlotte s web. Synonyms and other taxonomic changes.

Like many other species of orb weavers it takes down its web and rebuilds. The barn spider rose to prominence in e b. Barn spiders are most common in the northeastern united states and canada. The barn spider is large 4 5 inch long and yellow and brown in color.