Giant Lichen Orbweaver

Araneus bicentenarius · Order: Araneae · Family: Araneidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Giant Lichen Orbweaver
Photo: John P Friel, CC BY

The giant lichen orbweaver is a type of orb-weaving spider in the Araneidae family. It lives in the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. It builds large circular webs that can be up to eight feet across.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Araneus bicentenarius is the scientific name of the giant lichen orbweaver.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

Like other orb weavers, it spins large webs up to eight feet in diameter.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 35 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Maine, Georgia, Alabama, Minnesota.

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

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Giant Lichen Orbweaver photo 3
Photo: Judy Gallagher, CC BY-SA
Giant Lichen Orbweaver photo 4
Photo: Michelle W. （鍾偉瑋）, CC BY
Giant Lichen Orbweaver photo 5
Photo: EJ Burns, CC BY
Giant Lichen Orbweaver photo 6
Photo: unknown, 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/Araneus_bicentenarius

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.

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.