Don’t worry about the menacing-looking red spikes around this guy’s abdomen. He’s actually harmless.
The spiny orbweaver spider – locally known as the crab spider due to its crab-like shape – is actually quite small. Females are up to 9mm in length and 13 mm wide, but the male is much smaller. Six bright red pointed spines project from its pure white and black-spotted body – it’s actually very attractive. Crab spiders are native to subtropical America and were introduced to Bermuda in the 1930s. You can also find them in Cuba and Jamaica.
While the crab spider is harmless to humans, that’s not the case for any insect that blunders into the web it re-makes daily. Flies and moths find themselves ensnared, bound, and cocooned into spider snacks!
You’ll find this common spider virtually everywhere. It makes its web in tall weeds, bushes, trees, and even the eaves of porches. In spring the female lays a group of eggs in the web and then moves them to the underside of a leaf she’ll find close by. She guards her eggs until they hatch, then she dies. The baby crab spiders grow throughout the summer, fall, and winter before finally reaching maturity the following spring.
