Bowl and Doily Spider Identification Guide

Bowl and Doily Spider Identification Guide

Physical Characteristics

The bowl and doily spider (Frontinella pyramitela) is a tiny spider that builds sheet webs. It lives across much of North America. Most people see its web long before they see the spider. Some older field guides list it as Frontinella communis.

Adults are very small:

• Females: about 3 to 4 mm long (roughly 1/8 inch), not counting legs
• Males: about 3 mm long, with a slimmer body and larger palps (the small “arms” near the mouth)

Here is what to look for:

• Abdomen: round and shiny. It is dark brown to black with wavy white or cream marks on the sides. Some have bold white stripes. Others look mostly dark.
• Front body section: brown to dark brown and smooth.
• Legs: long, thin, and light brown to olive. They look long for such a small body.
• Posture: the spider hangs upside down under its web, not on top of it.

The Bowl and Doily Web

The web is the best way to identify this spider. It has three parts:

1. Barrier threads: a loose tangle of silk lines above the web. Small flying insects hit these lines and drop down.
2. The bowl: a curved silk sheet shaped like a shallow bowl, a few inches across.
3. The doily: a flat silk sheet hanging just below the bowl.

The spider waits under the bowl, between the two sheets. When a bug falls into the bowl, the spider bites it from below. Then it pulls the bug through the silk. The lower sheet may help protect the spider from enemies below. On dewy mornings, these webs look like little silver bowls scattered across a hedge or field.

Common Look-Alikes

This spider belongs to the sheet-weaver family (Linyphiidae). People often mix it up with:

• Grass Spiders (Agelenopsis spp.) also build flat sheet webs in lawns and shrubs. But their sheet leads into a silk funnel. The spider is much bigger (10 to 20 mm) with dark stripes on its head.
• Funnel Weaver Spiders (Agelenidae) also hide in a funnel retreat. They run on top of the sheet, not under it.
• Triangulate Cobweb Spiders (Steatoda triangulosa) are about the same size with round, patterned bodies. But they build messy webs, mostly indoors, with no bowl or sheet.
• House Spiders (Parasteatoda tepidariorum) hang in tangled cobwebs in garages and basements. They are larger and blotchy brown rather than black and white.
• Orb Weaver Spiders (Araneidae) build round, wheel-shaped webs, not sheets.
• Filmy dome spider (Neriene radiata) and hammock spider (Pityohyphantes costatus) are close cousins. The filmy dome spider’s sheet is shaped like a dome, not a bowl. The hammock spider builds one sheet shaped like a hammock.

Bowl and Doily Spider Behavior and Biology

Habitat

Bowl and doily spiders live outdoors. They need plants or twigs to hold their webs, so you will find them in:

• Shrubs, hedges, and foundation plantings
• Evergreens such as yews, junipers, and young pines
• Tall grass, meadows, and weedy field edges
• Low branches along wooded lots and trails
• Garden beds and fence lines

Webs are usually built from a few inches to a few feet above the ground. They may also show up on porch railings or the corners of siding next to plants. They rarely live inside homes.

Diet

These spiders eat small, soft insects that fly or drift into the barrier threads, such as:

• Gnats and midges
• Small flies
• Aphids and leafhoppers
• Tiny moths and other small insects

Life Cycle and Mating

Bowl and doily spiders usually complete one generation per year in the Mid-Atlantic:

• Winter: young spiders spend the cold months in leaf litter and low plants.
• Spring: they finish growing and build their first full webs. Many young spiders spread by “ballooning,” floating on silk threads in the wind.
• Late spring and summer: adults mate. A male often moves into a female’s web and stays with her for a while. Males fight other males over a web. Scientists have studied this spider for years because of this.
• Summer and early fall: females lay eggs in small silk egg sacs placed near the web. Adults die off in the fall.

Seasonal Activity

• December through February (none): no active webs; young spiders shelter in leaf litter.
• March (low): young spiders become active as the weather warms.
• April and October (moderate): webs start to appear in spring and fade in fall.
• May through September (high): peak season for adults and webs.
• November (low): a few webs remain until hard frost.

In the Deep South and coastal California, the season starts earlier and runs later.

How We Treat for Bowl and Doily Spiders

Bowl and doily spiders live in the plants around your home. They do not damage the house. Most people call us when webs build up on the porch, eaves, railings, or entryways. Our spider control service handles them along with other web-building spiders.

• Inspection: We look for spider hot spots around your home. We also look for what draws them in. Bright outdoor lights pull in gnats and moths, which spiders eat. Thick shrubs against the house give webs a place to hang.
• Exterior treatment: We apply a non-repellent product to the outside of the home where spiders are active, such as windows, doorways, eaves, and corners.
• De-webbing: We knock down webs around the eaves and front porch that we can reach from the ground, up to about 6 to 8 feet.
• Ongoing service: Our plan includes three visits per year. Each visit renews the outside treatment and clears new webs. You also get unlimited free callbacks between visits. The same plan covers other common household pests.

Prevention and Customer Guidance

• Trim shrubs and hedges so they do not touch the house
• Switch porch lights to yellow bug lights to draw fewer insects
• Close blinds at night so indoor lights do not attract insects to windows
• Sweep webs off railings and doorways with a broom
• Seal gaps around windows, doors, and utility lines

References

• Frontinella pyramitela (Bowl and Doily Spider) - BugGuide species page with range, photos, and identification notes
• Frontinella communis (Bowl and Doily Spider) - University of Guelph Arboretum species profile
• Common Spiders in and Around Homes - University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension
• Spiders - University of Minnesota Extension guide to spiders around the home
• Spiders: Management Guidelines - University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Common Spiders of Ohio Field Guide - Ohio Department of Natural Resources
• Frontinella pyramitela occurrence records - Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)