Bug FAQVersicolor Long-jawed Orbweaver
Tetragnatha versicolor · Order: Araneae · Family: Tetragnathidae
Source: Wikipedia
Males are about 5 mm long and females about 6.5 mm, making them very small spiders. They live throughout North America, especially in New England and the west coast of the United States.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Males have a dark-yellow or pale-orange carapace with dorsal radiating marks. The lateral eyes are set closer together than the median eyes.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Both sexes are colored dark yellow or pale orange, which is small for a spider.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are habitat generalists and can live in many environments. They prefer drier places such as trees and shrubs, though they also occur in grasslands, wetlands, and forests.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
As an orb-weaver, they spin webs to catch prey. Their venom composition is linked to what they eat.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Mating lacks a distinct courtship; they will mate with any nearby individuals. Female mating history strongly influences mating behavior.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
They are found throughout North America, including Canada, the United States, Central America, and Cuba. In the United States they are most common in New England and on the west coast (California and Washington).
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
They can be told apart from other Tetragnatha spiders by the clear separation of the front and back eyes and by their reproductive organ shape.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 38 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Colorado, Washington, Maine, Alaska, California, Montana, Ohio, Arizona.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How big are Versicolor Long-jawed Orbweavers?
Males are about 5 mm long; females are about 6.5 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
Where are they found?
They occur across North America, especially in New England and the west coast of the United States.
Source: Wikipedia
What do they eat?
They build orb webs to catch prey, and their venom reflects their diet.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Tetragnathidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetragnatha_versicolor
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.