by Leslie Cox; Thursday; September 14, 2017

In truth…these guys are around for the entire gardening season but they are really not too noticeable until August through into the fall months.

We noticed the pumpkin spider, or Araneus trifolium to give its proper name, in the photo to the right on August 12th. To our knowledge, we have not had one of these spiders in our garden before…although this spider is native across Canada, north to Alaska, and south to California across to Alabama. I think we would have spotted this spider species before if it had ever made a previous appearance in our garden, especially given its size and brilliant yellow colouring. But given the time of year, harvesting and getting the garden ready for winter typically has us utterly focused with blinders on.

The pumpkin spider…also called the Shamrock spider…is an orb weaver. We definitely have seen orb weavers before. Hard to miss them because they weave quite large, circular webs…and if they are hanging out in their web, they always sit upside down. If you do not see the resident spider in its web, look closely at the plant material off to the sides.

Orb weaver spiders also typically build a bower…a web-woven nest-like abode which pulls the plant material together to make a hideout. This spider has utilized a substantial grass blade on our variegated Miscanthus sinensis condensatus ‘Cosmopolitan’.

Another orb weaver spider, an Araneus diadematus or cross orb weaver, has captured up leaves on a branch of the variegated Lysimachia punctata ‘Alexander’ near the flower tip. This female cross orb weaver spider has done such a good job of building her bower, you can barely see her. If you are lucky, there may be a suggestive leg dangling just ever so slightly in view. From what I can see though, this female is not as large as the other one.

 

The one in ‘Cosmopolitan’ looks like she is carrying enough eggs to make up the 800 to 1000 number as pegged for the high end of their egg-laying capabilities. The female in ‘Alexander’ is probably only carrying a few hundred. Either way, there should be lots of pumpkin and cross orb weaver spiderlings hatching in the spring. Unless, of course, a couple of hungry birds find the spiders’ egg nests first as the females can only guard their eggs up until the cold weather kills them.