We do have some spiders that survive well into the winter. We have some small wolf spiders that scamper through the leaves even on cold days, but these active ones are mostly the exception.

It took awhile to identify this large one as a marbled orb weaver, Araneus marmoreus, also called pumpkin spider. It was paddling down SBS Creek on a little raft on Jan 9. This was just at the beginning of our six day hot spell with temperatures 20-30 degF warmer than usual.



I actually found another in Dec 2005, nearly identical to this one. And then again in Oct 2007.

Here’s a better view of the eyes.



I’m not the only one who finds these in winter. Here is a a North Carolina report to Bugguide in January.

You’ll notice the abdomen doesn’t look so much like our spider’s. There is a lot of polymorphism to this species, as you can see by the Bugguide images page.

The eyes, though, match up nicely to the North Carolina report.