Marbled orbweaver (Araneus marmoreus)

The marbled orbweaver is a spider in the family Araneidae that is not dangerous to people. GBIF holds 1,344 licensed U.S. records of it; it reaches our listing threshold in 39 states, most of all North Carolina (198), Virginia (195) and Maryland (99). Its observation records peak in October.

39states on record

1,344licensed U.S. records

Octpeak month, observations

Novenomous to people

Araneus marmoreus, commonly called the marbled orbweaver, is a species of spider belonging to the family Araneidae. It is sometimes also called the pumpkin spider from the resemblance of the female's inflated abdomen to an orange pumpkin. It has a Holarctic distribution.

From Wikipedia: Araneus marmoreus, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Bitten? Call 911 for a venomous snakebite or any bite with trouble breathing. For advice on any bite or sting, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (free, 24/7, U.S.-wide). Do not cut the wound, suck out venom or use a tourniquet. General information, not medical advice. Do not handle or try to identify a snake or spider by this page; if unsure, treat it as venomous.

Is the marbled orbweaver poisonous or venomous?

Not in any medically significant way. Like almost all spiders the marbled orbweaver (family Araneidae) has venom for its prey, but it is not a widow or recluse, the two U.S. groups whose bites need medical attention.

Which states have the marbled orbweaver?

Records are spread over 39 states; the top three, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland, hold 37% of them.

Source: GBIF, read 2026-09-29. A state is listed once GBIF holds at least 10 records of the species there under any license; Records counts only CC0 and CC BY records, so a listed state can show fewer.
#	State	Records	Share of state spiders	Rank in state
1	North Carolina	198	2.4%	6th of 184
2	Virginia	195	1.7%	14th of 176
3	Maryland	99	1.7%	13th of 153
4	Pennsylvania	77	1.0%	19th of 164
5	Alaska	74	0.3%	64th of 280
6	Georgia	63	0.9%	26th of 186
7	Ohio	60	0.9%	27th of 332
8	Minnesota	47	1.6%	15th of 145
9	South Carolina	47	2.0%	10th of 121
10	New York	42	0.7%	35th of 149
11	Illinois	38	0.2%	75th of 243
12	Massachusetts	35	0.8%	30th of 189
13	Arkansas	32	2.0%	12th of 114
14	Alabama	28	0.8%	30th of 143
15	Wisconsin	24	0.8%	29th of 149
16	Indiana	23	0.5%	40th of 133
17	Delaware	22	1.0%	24th of 71
18	Tennessee	22	0.6%	42nd of 138
19	Kentucky	21	1.1%	23rd of 103
20	New Hampshire	21	1.5%	21st of 72
21	Missouri	19	0.8%	27th of 117
22	Maine	18	1.9%	15th of 297
23	Vermont	18	1.2%	21st of 74
24	New Jersey	17	0.7%	37th of 127
25	Michigan	16	0.7%	32nd of 122
26	Connecticut	15	1.5%	17th of 86
27	Kansas	9	0.5%	30th of 94
28	Montana	9	0.4%	23rd of 75
29	Texas	8	0.0%	229th of 386
30	Mississippi	7	0.5%	40th of 117
31	Iowa	6	0.9%	18th of 57
32	West Virginia	5	0.7%	30th of 90
33	Nebraska	4	0.3%	51st of 71
34	Oklahoma	4	0.1%	110th of 149
35	Oregon	4	0.1%	56th of 88
36	Rhode Island	4	2.3%	11th of 53
37	South Dakota	4	2.1%	8th of 29
38	Louisiana	3	0.1%	94th of 107
39	Washington	3	0.1%	94th of 157

When is the marbled orbweaver seen?

Across the U.S., observation records of the marbled orbweaver run mostly July through November, peaking in October with 31% of them. Almost none are from December to February.

Season by state

Among states whose main season falls within one calendar year, it starts earliest in July (Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New York and 2 more) and latest in August (Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia). The most common peak month is October, shared by Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia.

Source: GBIF observation records (CC0, CC BY) by state and month, read 2026-09-29. States with fewer than 30 observation records with a month are left out.
State	Main season	Peak month	Observation records
North Carolina	July through November	October	198
Virginia	August through November	October	195
Maryland	July through October	October	99
Pennsylvania	August through November	September	71
Georgia	July through December	October	63
Ohio	August through November	September	60
Minnesota	July through October	August	47
South Carolina	July through November	November	46
New York	July through October	September	42
Massachusetts	August through October	September	35
Alaska	July through September	August	33
Arkansas	July through October	October	31

Where the marbled orbweaver is recorded in each state

North Carolina

North Carolina holds 198 licensed records, the joint 6th most recorded of 184 spiders listed there. Its observation records in North Carolina run mostly July through November, peaking in October; most licensed records come from Orange County, Wake County and Chatham County. Next come Durham County (10) and Mecklenburg County (8).

Virginia

Virginia holds 195 licensed records, the joint 14th most recorded of 176 spiders listed there. Its observation records in Virginia run mostly August through November, peaking in October; most licensed records come from Fairfax County, Prince William County and Arlington County. Next come Chesterfield County (8) and Powhatan County (6).

Maryland

Maryland holds 99 licensed records, the 13th most recorded of 153 spiders listed there. Its observation records in Maryland run mostly July through October, peaking in October; most licensed records come from Howard County, Montgomery County and Frederick County. Next come Anne Arundel County (9) and Baltimore County (9).

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania holds 77 licensed records, the 19th most recorded of 164 spiders listed there. Its observation records in Pennsylvania run mostly August through November, peaking in September; most licensed records come from Westmoreland County, Philadelphia County and Montgomery County. Next come Bucks County (5) and Centre County (4).

Alaska

Alaska holds 74 licensed records, the 64th most recorded of 280 spiders listed there. Its observation records in Alaska run mostly July through September, peaking in August; most licensed records come from Anchorage Municipality, Fairbanks North Star Borough and Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Next come Kenai Peninsula Borough (3) and Skagway-Yakutat-Angoon Census Area (3).

Georgia

Georgia holds 63 licensed records, the 26th most recorded of 186 spiders listed there. Its observation records in Georgia run mostly July through December, peaking in October; most licensed records come from Clarke County, DeKalb County and Gwinnett County. Next come Oconee County (5) and Madison County (5).

Ohio

Ohio holds 60 licensed records, the joint 27th most recorded of 332 spiders listed there. Its observation records in Ohio run mostly August through November, peaking in September; most licensed records come from Portage County, Richland County and Summit County. Next come Erie County (4) and Lake County (4).

Minnesota

Minnesota holds 47 licensed records, the joint 15th most recorded of 145 spiders listed there. Its observation records in Minnesota run mostly July through October, peaking in August; most licensed records come from Cook County, Carlton County and St. Louis County. Next come Hennepin County (4) and Rice County (3).

South Carolina

South Carolina holds 47 licensed records, the 10th most recorded of 121 spiders listed there. Its observation records in South Carolina run mostly July through November, peaking in November; most licensed records come from Oconee County, Richland County and Chesterfield County. Next come Spartanburg County (6) and Abbeville County (4).

New York

New York holds 42 licensed records, the 35th most recorded of 149 spiders listed there. Its observation records in New York run mostly July through October, peaking in September; most licensed records come from Essex County, Westchester County and Greene County. Next come Rockland County (3) and Sullivan County (3).

Illinois

Illinois holds 38 licensed records, the joint 75th most recorded of 243 spiders listed there. Most of its licensed records in Illinois come from Union County, Winnebago County and Champaign County. Next come Cook County (3) and DuPage County (3).

Massachusetts

Massachusetts holds 35 licensed records, the joint 30th most recorded of 189 spiders listed there. Its observation records in Massachusetts run mostly August through October, peaking in September; most licensed records come from Barnstable County, Dukes County and Plymouth County. Next come Bristol County (3) and Worcester County (2).

Arkansas

Arkansas holds 32 licensed records, the joint 12th most recorded of 114 spiders listed there. Its observation records in Arkansas run mostly July through October, peaking in October; most licensed records come from Craighead County, Benton County and Polk County. Next come Greene County (3) and Cleburne County (2).

Top counties in the U.S.

Source: GBIF licensed records by county (GADM level 2), read 2026-09-29.
#	County	State	Records	Share of U.S.
1	Fairfax County	Virginia	83	6.2%
2	Orange County	North Carolina	60	4.5%
3	Wake County	North Carolina	30	2.2%
4	Anchorage Municipality	Alaska	26	1.9%
5	Fairbanks North Star Borough	Alaska	26	1.9%
6	Howard County	Maryland	24	1.8%
7	Chatham County	North Carolina	18	1.3%
8	Barnstable County	Massachusetts	15	1.1%
9	Matanuska-Susitna Borough	Alaska	14	1.0%
10	Montgomery County	Maryland	14	1.0%
11	Prince William County	Virginia	13	1.0%
12	Westmoreland County	Pennsylvania	12	0.9%
13	Clarke County	Georgia	11	0.8%
14	Cook County	Minnesota	11	0.8%
15	Arlington County	Virginia	11	0.8%

How recent are the marbled orbweaver records?

Most of what is known about the marbled orbweaver is recent: 89% of dated U.S. records were made in 2017–2026, and half date from 2022 or later. The oldest dated record is from 1905; the busiest year was 2023, with 182 records.

Source: GBIF licensed U.S. records with a year, read 2026-09-29.
Decade	Records	Share
1900s	1	0.1%
1910s	1	0.1%
1940s	5	0.4%
1950s	1	0.1%
1960s	4	0.3%
1970s	5	0.4%
1980s	3	0.2%
1990s	18	1.3%
2000s	24	1.7%
2010s	268	19.4%
2020s	1,049	76.1%

Species recorded in the same counties

Of the 176 counties where the marbled orbweaver is most recorded, 95 are also top counties for the black-and-yellow argiope, more than for any other spider. None of its closest neighbors is venomous.

Source: GBIF licensed records, top counties per species and state, read 2026-09-29.
Species	Shared counties
Black-and-yellow argiope	95
Dark fishing spider	94
Nursery web spider	92
Orchard orbweaver	92
Spined micrathena	92
Bronze jumper	91
Spotted orbweaver	91
Familiar jumping spider	84

Other species of the genus Araneus with profiles here: Garden spider, Butterfly orbweaver, Giant lichen orbweaver and Shamrock orbweaver.

Garden spiderAraneus diadematus

Butterfly orbweaverAraneus pegnia

Giant lichen orbweaverAraneus bicentenarius

Shamrock orbweaverAraneus trifolium

GBIF records read 2026-09-29. Listed: any license. Counted: CC0/CC BY only. How we count.

About these numbers

A species is listed for a state once GBIF holds at least 10 records of it located inside the state by coordinates, under any license. Every count, share, month and county shown is computed only from records published under CC0 or CC BY, so a listed species can show few or no counted records. Monthly patterns show when people record spiders, which also reflects when people are outdoors. Venomous status follows taxonomy: pit vipers and coral snakes; widow and recluse spiders; the Arizona bark scorpion. Records filed under older names count for the species they belong to today. Full methodology.