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How to Identify Spiders by a Long M-Shaped Web Pattern

Different species of spiders weave different types of webs. There are orb webs, tent webs, tunnel webs and stringy cobwebs. Orb- or circular-shaped webs are woven by spiders in gaps between objects like tree branches, plant stalks and leaves. Spiders that weave orb-shaped webs with M-shaped patterns or thick zigzag lines going down the center are garden spiders. Garden spiders often build their webs near open fields in areas protected from the wind, in tall vegetation and on house eaves.

Instructions

- 1
  Inspect the web to determine if it is round and flat, tubular shaped, a tent or a tangle web. If it is round and flat, look for an M-shaped pattern or a long zigzag line that goes down the center of the web. The M-shaped pattern or zigzag may be present only at the very center of the web, or it may go down the length of it.
- 2
  Examine the M-shaped pattern to determine if it forms an X shape across the web, a straight line or in a circle at the center of the web. If so, it is the web of a garden spider. Look for a smaller, ancillary web built onto the outer part of the main web that is made with a thick zigzag of silk. This area is where the male spider lives. The female spider lives on the larger, circular web that may be 2 feet in diameter.
- 3
  Inspect the spider on a web with an M-shaped pattern on it. The spider should be black with yellow stripes and spots on its abdomen and have a white head or cephalothorax covered with silver hairs and black-tipped legs that are yellow and orange-red at the center. If the spider is 1 1/2 inches long, it is a female garden spider. If the spider is three-quarters of an inch long, it is a male garden spider.

Insects & Science