Bug FAQAmerican Dewdrop Spider
Argyrodes elevatus · Order: Araneae · Family: Theridiidae
Also called: Dew-drop Spider, cobweb spiders
The American dewdrop spider is a tiny spider about 4 to 7 mm long, with a dark head, lighter brown legs that end in dark tips, and a silver, conical abdomen marked by a dark line. It lives in tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America and the southern United States, with especially large populations in places like Trinidad.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The head is dark brown to black. Legs are lighter brown with darker ends matching the head. The abdomen is silver, bulb-like and conical with a dark longitudinal line.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure about 4 to 7 mm in total length. Males are smaller than females and have a lower, upward-pointing abdominal segment.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Large populations occur in tropical and subtropical areas such as Trinidad.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults mainly steal food from the host spider’s web, taking egg sacs or insects caught in the silk. They also pilfer small prey that the host has not yet detected, while larger captured prey are harder for them to obtain.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
About 24 hours after mating, the female lays one or two eggs on the outer part of the host’s web. The eggs are attached to silk threads there and receive no parental care.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Their core range is subtropical and tropical regions of South and Central America and the southern United States.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 22 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, California, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, Maryland.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How does the American dewdrop spider get its food?
It steals food from the host spider’s web, taking egg sacs or insects caught in the silk, and also grabs small prey that the host has not yet noticed.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is the American dewdrop spider native to?
It is native to subtropical and tropical parts of South and Central America and the southern United States.
Source: Wikipedia
How big does this spider get?
Adults are about 4 to 7 mm long when the two body sections are measured together.
Source: Wikipedia
What does the abdomen look like?
The abdomen is silver, bulb-like and conical with a dark line running down its length.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Theridiidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argyrodes_elevatus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.