Large black spiders are often associated with Halloween—many people find them to be merely spooky, but some are totally creeped out by them. Maybe the spiders need better marketing and a new poster child for the autumn holidays. I would nominate this colorful Marbled Orbweaver spider (Araneus marmoreus) that I spotted on Thursday at Huntley Meadows Park.
When I spotted this spider, I was immediately attracted to the way that the light was illuminating its legs from behind and causing them to glow. As I made adjustments to my camera settings, I was a little shocked to see the beautiful orange coloration and intricate patterns on the spider’s body. The oval body brought to mind a kind of stylized jack-o’-lantern and I later learned that one of the informal names for this spider is “pumpkin spider.”
For many of us this is the season for voting. Would you vote for this spider as a new autumn mascot?
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Beautiful capture. 🙏
Thanks. I had never before seen a spider colored like that one.
Wow !!! Great shot, and really pretty spider. Markings are incredible.
I always like the way the strands of the web light up.
It’s certainly cuter than the plain black spiders that decorate so many Halloween yards and parties, but there’s not much about it that’s threatening, and after all — at Halloween, ‘vaguely threatening’ is the name of the game.
You are right, although there seem to be some people that blow right past “vaguely threatening” to “downright scary.” 🙂
Your amazing photo, made even more so when enlarged, is a gift from nature’s oft missed beauty. This gorgeous gal could lure the most ambivalent into becoming a lover of spiders! Need I say that Benjamin, though not here until midweek, will be ecstatic examining this photo?! Thank-you Mr. Mike…for both the photo and the smiles this little “pumpkin spider” brought!
Thanks, Ellen. This spider was not as big as many of the black and yellow orbweavers that I have seen this summer, but its beauty is unmatched. I decided to keep quite a bit of the web in the photo to give viewers a better feel for the environment in which I found it. Thanks as always for your support and encouragement–I am pretty confident that Benjamin will also like the little orange spider.
on the voting question – it goes with something else that is orange and even scarier. And also much less photogenic. And it is also found on the Web, in the twitter zone. I have said too much. Let’s go back to the orange spider with apologies to the spider for the comparison. Thanks Mike
🙂
Beautiful shot. The spider looks like a perfect, sparkling jewel. I will happily second your vote for this spider to be an official Halloween mascot.
I can see why this may be called pumpkin spider. What a beautifully decorated arachnid! Great catch and photo, Mike!
Thanks, Pete.
Surely it would win for its pretty Fall colors!
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Thanks, Mitzy. I happen to love orange and in fact drive an orange car. It is, however, not a pumpkin-colored, but more of a coppery shade that KIA called “Ignition Orange.”
Fun!
It would get my vote as well. (Elections closed here yesterday and results were very good indeed.) I have seen them several times and they’re always a thrill, and I love the markings. They remind me of a fine Persian rug or possibly a little work in cloisonné.
Thanks, Gary. Those markings are definitely remarkable. I can see how they would remind you of a rug pattern, though I am more drawn to the image of a jewel-like cloisonné design.
That would work for me, Mike. Who wouldn’t love to have one of these beauties skittering across a web with a bag of treats to sample? 🙂
🙂 Thanks, Steve. The spider and I might disagree about what constitutes a good treat, but I like the image you conjured up.
I’m not the biggest spider lover but this one is realy beautiful. Also my compliments for the photo.
Thanks. I am not trying to win over fans to spiders–the aversion to spiders seems to be instinctive in many people–but I do appreciate that you can look beyond those feelings to see the beauty of this spider.
Definitely! The spider has my vote.
Thanks, Nina. It is definitely a cool-looking spider. 🙂
Yes, elect this spider as the new poster for Halloween!
There seems to be a lot of support for this orange spider–I think it could be elected.
How is this freaking scary beauty not the mascot of Halloween? Part pumpkin, part Dia de Muertos, part beauty and part beast 🎃👏🙏😱
I love your lyrical description of my little spider–it sound like part of the trailer language for a horror movie in which the spider is the star monster.