Female Cat-faced Spiders are hard to miss this time of year. Not only for their size, but also for their stunning wheel-shaped webs. We can just see a peek of her identifying characteristic—a fine white line crossed by two shallow white Vs on the front of the abdomen. According to BugGuide, “How strong these lines are, and, to a certain extent, their shape, is variable from one individual to another.” These orbweavers can also vary in color a lot. This female will be gone by the first hard frost, but hopefully she’s already laid an egg sac (or is about to), which will produce 100+ spiderlings next spring—an amazing sight to see when they emerge. They will hang out in a cluster for a few days before disappearing.
Size: Females 13 to 25 mm, males 5.4 to 7.9 mm
Photo by: Megan Robson on 9/19/22 in Missoula, MT