Bug FAQSilver Garden Orbweaver
Argiope argentata · Order: Araneae · Family: Araneidae
Also called: Silver Argiope, orb weavers, silver garden spider
Source: Wikipedia
Female silver garden orbweavers are about 12 mm long, roughly three times the size of the much smaller males. They live in dry, warm areas such as prickly-pear plants in Southern California and other arid regions of the Americas. Their diet includes butterflies, moths, mosquitoes, grasshoppers and flies, and they do not pose a venomous threat to humans.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The spider’s cephalothorax is silvery, giving it the name silver garden spider. Its underside is dark brown with a yellow stripe across it.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Females average 12 mm, about three times larger than males.
Source: Wikipedia
Does it bite or sting?
Their bite is considered relatively harmless to humans.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It prefers arid and warm habitats across North, Central, Caribbean and South America. In Southern California it is especially common on prickly-pear plants.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It catches butterflies, moths, mosquitoes, grasshoppers and flies.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Males are much smaller than females, showing strong sexual dimorphism. Sexual cannibalism can occur during or after mating.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
They are not typically found in cooler European climates.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Native to Southern California and found as far south as Argentina and Chile.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It belongs to the Argiope genus, whose members also have non-harmful venom to humans.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 3 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Texas, Florida.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
Are silver garden orbweavers dangerous to humans?
No, their venom is not toxic to people and bites are relatively harmless.
Source: Wikipedia
What do silver garden orbweavers look like?
They have a silvery cephalothorax and a dark-brown underside with a yellow stripe.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find silver garden orbweavers?
They live in dry, warm areas like prickly-pear plants in Southern California and other arid regions of the Americas.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Araneidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argiope_argentata
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 2026-10-22.