Araneus Saevus is a northern species of spider that can be found from the northern United States into Canada. Its common name is Fierce Orbweaver which is funny as they are not fierce at all and are actually quite shy, and the name really means cruel and again, that’s wrong.
They prefer old forests and are mostly found on trees or mature plants. The one in the photos was observed on the upper Myra Falls trail in Strathcona Park. It was fairly large, about the size of a silver dollar. Not much is known about this spider except that it overwinters in its egg stage and most adults are observed in the late summer to early autumn.
Araneus Saevus is a large brown-to-black spider with large dorsal humps on the lateral anterior abdomen. The abdomen is generally very dark brown and has a black dorsal. Between the humps, there is a stripe of white or cream of varying size depending on the specimen. There are two white spots on the underside of the abdomen. Females grow up to 2 to 3 cm long, and males are 1 to 2 cm in length and are much darker than females.
Most Araneus Saevus quickly run into their silken nest or drop to the forest floor when disturbed. Although these spiders are not known to bite, there is one verified case of biting that was severe enough to cause pain, swelling, and numbness in the area of the bite. The one in the pictures on this page was at least 1.5 cm in size and looked quite fierce, l would not like to be bitten by it or for that matter, any Fierce Orbweaver. On the other hand, it was awesome to see this one, it is a beautiful spider.