A Tropical Orb Weaver, Eriophora Ravilla

Among the several large orb weavers occurring in Florida is Eriophora ravilla (C. L. Koch). Unlike similar large spiders of the genus Neoscona (Edwards, 1984), E. ravilla is not a conspicuous member of the diurnal fauna during its adult stage. Nevertheless, nursery inspectors regularly encounter specimens of this species and submit them to the Division of Plant Industry for identification. Bites of this species are not known to cause serious effects to humans.

Eriophora ravilla belongs to a genus of primarily tropical species. Its range is largely circum-Caribbean, occurring in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas along the Gulf Coast of the United States; Mexico; throughout Central America; throughout the Greater and Lesser Antilles; the Bahamas; and in Colombia and Venezuela in northern South America. The extremes of its range are two disjunct records, one from Maryland in the U.S.A. and one from southeastern Brasil (Levi, 1970).