These are the most conspicuous of spiders. Some of our species are beautifully colored. They are often large spiders that build flat vertical webs. The webs have spoke-like radial threads spreading from the center connected by a spiral orb of fine sticky-silk that forms the circular catching region of the web. In many of these spiders, the males are very small compared to their mates. Most often, we see the large conspicuous webs of the females during summer and autumn.
These long thin spiders are often golden brown or silver in color. They build an orb web similar to the orb-weavers, but it is usually nearly horizontal in orientation. They are very common in tall grass and cattails near water. They capture large numbers of emerging aquatic insects such as midges and mosquitos. They have remarkably long jaws which interlock during mating.
Text by Dr. Richard Bradley, Assoc. Prof., Ohio State Univ.- Marionto
to Provisional List of Ohio Spiders (as of 23 Nov 1995) 31k