Asian Spinybacked Orbweaver

Thelacantha brevispina · Order: Araneae · Family: Araneidae

Also called: Asian Spiny-backed Spider, Double-Spotted Spiny Spider

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Asian Spinybacked Orbweaver
Photo: Chen-Pan Liao, CC BY-SA

Female Asian Spinybacked Orbweavers are about 6 to 10 mm long, while males are 3 to 5 mm long. Females have six sharp abdominal spines and usually two large white spots on a mottled abdomen. The species has been introduced to Hawaii.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Females grow to about 6 to 10 mm (0.24 to 0.39 in) long.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 1 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Hawaii.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Asian Spinybacked Orbweaver photo 3
Photo: sunnyjosef, CC BY
Asian Spinybacked Orbweaver photo 4
Photo: sunnyjosef, CC BY
Asian Spinybacked Orbweaver photo 5
Photo: sunnyjosef, CC BY
Asian Spinybacked Orbweaver photo 6
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

Same family (Araneidae)

Cross OrbweaverCross OrbweaverAraneus diadematusCan biteYellow Garden SpiderYellow Garden SpiderArgiope aurantiaCan biteSpotted OrbweaverSpotted OrbweaverNeoscona cruciferaCan biteGolden Silk SpiderGolden Silk SpiderTrichonephila clavipesCan biteFurrow OrbweaverFurrow OrbweaverLarinioides cornutusCan biteJoro SpiderJoro SpiderTrichonephila clavataCan bite

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelacantha

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.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.