Large Florida Orb Weavers Of The Genus Neoscona

Neoscona hentzii (Keyserling) (Hentz’ s orb weaver) and N. domiciliorum (Hentz) are common and conspicuous members of the moist woodland communities in much of Florida. These spiders are beneficial, consuming a variety of insects. Although typically nocturnal throughout most of their life spans, adult females can be found sitting head down in the hubs of their webs during daylight hours of the fall season. These spiders have a wide geographic range: N. hentzii is found from Lake Okeechobee in southern Florida north to New England, west to Minnesota, and southwest to Arizona and central Mexico, whereas N. domiciliorum occurs southeast of a line drawn from Massachusetts to Indiana southwest to Texas. In the more northern states, males may mature as early as late June and females in July (Berman and Levi, 1971), but in Florida, adults usually are not apparent until late August. Bites from these spiders are not known to cause serious effects to humans.