Is the orchard orbweaver dangerous to kids or pets?

No. The orchard orbweaver (Leucauge venusta) is harmless to humans and pets. Its jaws are so small that breaking adult human skin under ordinary circumstances is essentially impossible, and its venom has no medical significance. Children and dogs that brush through a web are in no danger. The spider is far more likely to drop and hide when disturbed than to attempt a bite. No treatment is needed if contact occurs — this species is simply not a threat to people or animals.

Are orchard orbweavers found in New Hampshire?

Yes. Leucauge venusta ranges along the East Coast from southern Canada to Central America, placing New Hampshire well within its established range. Look for it from late spring through early fall in wooded edges, shaded backyard shrubs, and garden borders throughout southern NH cities including Manchester, Nashua, and Concord. It is one of the most reliably spotted small orbweavers in the region during summer months, easily recognizable by its horizontal web and jewel-colored markings.

Is the red mark on the orchard orbweaver's belly a black widow sign?

No — this is the most important thing to know about this spider. The red or orange crescent on the underside of an orchard orbweaver is harmless pigment that varies among individuals and is sometimes absent entirely. A true black widow has a bright red hourglass — a closed, figure-eight shape — on a glossy, jet-black, round abdomen. The orchard orbweaver has a silvery elongated abdomen, iridescent green legs, and is active in a horizontal orb web by day: the exact opposite of a widow's appearance and behavior.

How do I get rid of an orchard orbweaver?

The easiest method is relocation. Use a stick or gloved hand to transfer the web and spider to a nearby shrub away from the path — it will rebuild overnight in the new location. If you simply want the spider out of a specific spot, repeated web removal (without harming the spider) will prompt it to establish elsewhere. Killing it is unnecessary and removes a beneficial predator from your garden. Because this spider is seasonal and harmless, relocation is always the recommended first step.

What does finding an orchard orbweaver web mean?

It means you have an active natural pest controller in your garden. Orchard orbweavers prey on flies, gnats, leafhoppers, and other small flying insects. A horizontal orb web in a shaded shrub is a sign of good garden habitat — not an infestation. Unless the web falls in a high-traffic spot, the best response is to leave it. A web rebuilt in the same location daily means the spider is finding ample prey and doing useful work.

Why is the orchard orbweaver's web horizontal instead of vertical?

The orchard orbweaver belongs to the family Tetragnathidae (long-jawed orbweavers), which has evolved to build horizontal webs — a strategy that intercepts flying insects moving through the low shrub layer. The horizontal design also lets the spider hang beneath the hub and drop quickly when threatened. Most orb-weavers, including the garden spider, build vertical webs, so the flat, wheel-like horizontal web strung low in a shrub is one of the fastest ways to confirm you are looking at this species.

How can I tell an orchard orbweaver from a black widow at a glance?

Three quick checks separate them every time. First, web shape: the orbweaver builds a neat, flat horizontal orb in a shrub; the widow builds a messy tangled web in a dark, low corner or void. Second, time of day: the orbweaver sits openly in its web by day; the widow hides by day. Third, color: the orbweaver has green legs and a silver abdomen; the widow is uniformly glossy black. All three checks point the same direction. If you are ever uncertain, call for a professional identification.

Is the orchard orbweaver the same as the common garden spider?

No. The common garden spider (Argiope aurantia) is a large yellow-and-black orb-weaver that builds a prominent vertical web — sometimes two feet across — with a distinctive zigzag stabilimentum through the center. The orchard orbweaver is much smaller, green-legged and silver, and builds a horizontal web without a stabilimentum. Both are harmless and beneficial, but they are different species in different families. In NH gardens you are likely to encounter both in late summer, and their very different web orientations make identification straightforward.

Why is it called an orchard orbweaver?

The name combines two references: 'orchard' because Leucauge venusta is commonly found in orchards, hedgerows, and the shrubby edges of gardens and woodlands where insects are abundant; and 'orbweaver' because it builds a wheel-shaped orb web. Other common names include orchard spider and, more technically, long-jawed orbweaver — a reference to the enlarged chelicerae (jaws) characteristic of its family, Tetragnathidae, compared with other orbweavers.

Can the orchard orbweaver bite me?

Theoretically yes, but practically almost never. The spider's jaws are extremely small, and causing a puncture requires being directly pinched with significant force — something that does not happen from casual contact with a web. Even a confirmed bite produces no venom of medical concern; at most, minor local irritation. For context, bee stings, wasp stings, and common house spider bites are all more consequential. The orchard orbweaver is not a spider that warrants any bite concern under normal circumstances.

Orchard orbweaver · Leucauge venusta

SpidersNH resident

Orchard Orbweaver in NH: ID, Web & Is It a Widow?

Also called Orchard spider · Long-jawed orbweaver · Leucauge

The orchard orbweaver (Leucauge venusta) is a tiny, jewel-like spider — green legs, silvery abdomen, sometimes a red or orange crescent underneath — that builds horizontal orb webs low in shaded shrubs throughout New Hampshire from late spring through summer. Its red underside crescent is harmless pigment, not a widow warning. The true black widow has a tangled, irregular web, hides by day, and is uniformly glossy black. The orchard orbweaver hangs belly-up beneath its neat horizontal web in broad daylight and is completely harmless to humans and pets.

At a glance

Body size: ~3–8 mm (smaller than a grain of rice); Illinois DNR
Web orientation: Horizontal orb; vs widow's tangled web; Illinois DNR
NH status: Reported in the Northeast; range extends up the East Coast into NH; regional range records
Bite risk: Harmless — no medical significance; spideridentifications.com
Red underside mark: Harmless pigment, NOT a widow; bugeric.blogspot.com

The short of it

The 'is that a widow?' spider of the NH garden

The orchard orbweaver (Leucauge venusta) is one of the most beautiful and most misidentified spiders in New Hampshire. Tiny — body no bigger than a grain of rice — with iridescent green legs and a silvery abdomen, it builds low horizontal orb webs in shaded shrubs and garden borders all across the state from late spring through summer. Every year, homeowners spot the red or orange crescent on its underside and immediately fear black widow.

They are not the same spider. The two are opposites in almost every way: the orchard orbweaver is active by day, sits openly in the center of a neat, wheel-like horizontal web, and is completely harmless. The black widow hides by day in a tangled, irregular web, is uniformly glossy black, and has a true red hourglass on its underside — a closed figure-eight, not a crescent mark on an otherwise silver abdomen.

The orchard orbweaver is a beneficial predator, picking off small flying insects that land in its web. If its web does not cross a path or entryway, there is no reason to disturb it. Understanding what it is — and what it is not — is the entire point of this page.

Identify it

How to identify an orchard orbweaver

Three features identify the orchard orbweaver at a glance: jewel-green legs on a silvery abdomen, a perfectly flat horizontal orb web strung low in a shrub, and the spider hanging upside-down beneath the hub by day. The red or orange crescent on the underside, when present, is variable pigment — not a widow marker.

Species profile

Orchard orbweaver

Scientific name: Leucauge venusta
Family: Tetragnathidae
Size: ~3–8 mm body length
Coloration: Iridescent green legs; silvery-white abdomen with dark streaks; variable red, orange, or yellow crescent on underside — often faint or absent
Habitat: Woodland edges, shaded shrubs, garden borders, low understory vegetation
Active season: Late spring through early fall (May–September); adults peak mid-summer
Diet: Small flying insects — flies, gnats, leafhoppers — caught in the horizontal orb web
Reproduction: Egg sac placed in nearby vegetation in late summer; spiderlings emerge the following spring
Lifespan: One season — adults die after the first hard frost

East Coast from southern Canada to Central America; common throughout New Hampshire.

The tells — key ID features

Iridescent green legs and silvery abdomen — the jewel-like color combination is the fastest ID cue.
Horizontal (not vertical) orb web strung low in a shrub — the web angle alone nearly confirms the ID.
Hangs upside-down, belly up, beneath the center of the web hub by day.
Small body — ~3–8 mm, noticeably smaller than a garden spider or any widow.
Red or orange crescent on the underside when present — variable and often faint.
Active and visible in daylight, the opposite of the reclusive black widow.

Size, to scale

The insect

3–8 mm body length

Compared to

Smaller than a grain of rice to roughly the size of a small pea (body only)

Looks bigger than it is

The spider looks larger in a sunlit web than it really is — the body itself is very small.

Is it actually this? — the confusion species

Black widow

How to tell — Black widow is uniformly glossy black with a true red hourglass (closed figure-eight) on the underside, builds a messy tangled web low in dark corners or voids, and hides by day. Orchard orbweaver has green legs and a silver abdomen, hangs in a neat horizontal orb in daylight, and is harmless.

Basilica spider (Mecynogea lemniscata)

How to tell — Basilica spider builds a domed or barreled sheet web over shrubs, not a flat orb. Similar habitat but completely different web architecture.

Other long-jawed orbweavers (Tetragnatha spp.)

How to tell — Same family, similar slender build; usually found near water with a more elongated body. All species in the family are harmless.

What you'll notice

Signs of a problem

The orchard orbweaver leaves clear, predictable signs in the garden. All of them are good news — they indicate a harmless, beneficial predator is at work.

Small horizontal orb web strung low in a shrub or garden border

What it means — Almost certainly an orchard orbweaver — no other common NH spider builds a small, flat, perfectly horizontal orb that close to the ground in a garden shrub.

Tiny green-and-silver spider hanging belly-up beneath a web hub in broad daylight

What it means — Harmless orchard orbweaver resting in its characteristic position. A black widow, by contrast, hides by day and is never seen sitting openly in the center of a neat web.

A red or orange crescent mark visible on the spider's underside

What it means — This is the mark that triggers false widow alarms. If the web is horizontal and the spider is out by day, it is an orchard orbweaver — not a widow.

Web rebuilt each morning in the same shrub

What it means — Active orchard orbweaver maintaining a productive hunting territory. Daily web-rebuilding is normal and means the spider is finding ample prey.

How much it matters

The real risks, calibrated

The orchard orbweaver poses no meaningful risk to humans or pets. Its jaws are extremely small — too small to break adult human skin under ordinary circumstances — and its venom has no medical significance.

Overall risk

Low risk

Bite (theoretical)

Low risk

Onset: Only if the spider is directly pinched against skin with significant force

Jaws too small to break skin in almost all real-world encounters; no medically significant venom documented. At most, minor irritation at the site. No treatment required beyond basic first aid if skin is broken.

What you can do

DIY — what works, what backfires

In nearly every case the right response is to leave the orchard orbweaver alone. It is a natural pest controller that poses no threat to people or pets. The only practical reason to act is if a web repeatedly crosses a high-traffic walkway.

What actually works

Leave it in place — orchard orbweavers eat flies, gnats, and leafhoppers, providing free pest control in your garden.
Relocate a web that crosses a path: use a stick to transfer the web and spider to a nearby shrub and it will rebuild overnight in the new location.
Use the sighting as an identification opportunity — the horizontal web, green legs, and silver abdomen make this one of the most distinctive spiders in the NH garden.

What backfires

Don't kill it on sight because of the red underside crescent — that mark is harmless pigment, not a black widow warning.
Don't clear beneficial webs from garden shrubs unnecessarily — removing orchard orbweavers costs you free insect control.
Don't confuse web location with danger: widow webs are tangled, low, in dark corners or voids — not neat horizontal orbs in daylight garden shrubs.

Local Context

Orchard orbweavers in New Hampshire

Leucauge venusta ranges from southern Canada down the East Coast through Central America, and it is a regular resident of New Hampshire woodland edges, shaded backyard shrubs, and overgrown garden borders. In southern NH — Manchester, Nashua, Concord — look for horizontal orb webs strung low in the understory, typically under five feet, from late May through August. The spiders rebuild their webs daily and hang belly-up beneath the hub, a behavior as distinctive as the markings. Cold weather in early fall ends the adult season.

Peak season

Late spring through summer (May–September)

You might actually have

Black-and-yellow garden spider (vertical orb web, much larger)
Basilica spider (dome web over shrubs, not a flat orb)
Common house spider (irregular cobweb, indoors)

We serve these communities

ManchesterNashuaConcordMerrimackBedfordLondonderry

Hillsborough · Rockingham · Merrimack Counties

NH-licensed applicator · #782664
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Family-owned since 2017

Service Area Map

Southern New Hampshire

When it's past DIY

When to call Anchor about orchard orbweavers

Orchard orbweavers almost never warrant professional pest control — they are harmless, beneficial, and seasonal. Call us when you have recurring nuisance webs across garden paths or entryways, or when you want a professional ID to confirm the spider is not a species of concern.

Signals it's past DIY

When to call a pro

Webs repeatedly crossing garden walkways or building entryways despite regular relocation.
You want a professional identification to confirm the spider is not a widow or other species of concern.
Multiple web-building spider species are appearing in high-traffic areas of your property.

Keep them out — prevention

Trim shrubs back from walkways

Cutting vegetation 1–2 feet back from paths eliminates the attachment points orchard orbweavers use and reduces nuisance web crossings on high-traffic routes.

NH-specific

Thin dense foundation plantings

Dense, layered shrubs close to the house create ideal low-web habitat. Thinning reduces harborage for all web-building spiders near entryways.

Reduce outdoor lighting near garden beds

Lights attract the small flying insects that orchard orbweavers feed on. Moving fixtures away from garden shrubs makes those areas less productive hunting territory.

Not sure it's a orchard orbweaver?

A licensed NH technician can confirm the species and tell you honestly whether it's a DIY fix or a job for a pro — free inspection, same-day service across Southern New Hampshire.

Get a Free Inspection (603) 785-0118

Common Questions

Frequently asked questions

Sources(4)

[1]
Illinois DNR — Orchard Spider Leaflet
body size, identification, horizontal orb web orientation
govverified 2026-06-30
[2]
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — Beneficial Insects and Spiders
role as beneficial insect predator
govverified 2026-06-30
[3]
Bug Eric — Leucauge venusta profile
red underside crescent identification; harmless pigment
webverified 2026-06-30
[4]
Spider Identifications — Orchard Orbweaver
bite risk assessment; no medical significance
webverified 2026-06-30

Written & reviewed by

Verified

Daniel Brady

NH-Licensed Pesticide Applicator · License #782664 (NHDAMF, RSA 430)

Daniel Brady is the New Hampshire–licensed applicator behind Anchor Pest Services, a family-owned pest control company serving the Manchester area since 2017.

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Last updated 2026-06-30

New Hampshire pest control

Dealing with orchard orbweavers in your home?

Anchor Pest Services identifies and handles orchard orbweaver problems across southern and central New Hampshire. Family-owned since 2017, NH license #782664.