Dome Tent-Web Spider Identification in Australia

About the Dome tent-web spider

The dome tent-web spider, Cyrtophora moluccensis, is an araneid orb-weaver relative whose web is usually the strongest field clue. Instead of a vertical wheel, it builds a firm horizontal or slightly angled sheet shaped like a dome or tent, with dense mesh and support threads above and below. The spider often hangs upside down beneath the sheet; a patterned abdomen, warm coastal setting and nearby egg sacs support the identification, but a web photograph without the spider should remain a Cyrtophora or tent-web possibility.

Exact-species hero photograph: Cyrtophora moluccensis from Edge Hill, Queensland, by Steve Fitzgerald, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Exact-species specimen views

These licensed exact-taxon photographs show useful anatomy and variation. Use each caption for record and image context; no single image set represents every colour, posture or habitat.

How to identify a possible Cyrtophora moluccensis

Start with the web architecture. Cyrtophora moluccensis is an accepted Araneidae species in the World Spider Catalog, with Australian records inside a wider India-to-Pacific distribution. The Australian Museum Web2Spider guide describes a modified horizontal orb web: dense mesh without sticky capture silk, an extended hub, and a tent of vertical lines holding the sheet up. In the field the web looks like a shallow dome or bowl, often with a central peak or sheltered area, rather than a clean vertical wheel. The spider commonly rests upside down beneath the sheet. Adult females can reach about 24 mm body length in specialist field accounts, while males are much smaller at around 8 mm. A patterned, high abdomen and the dome web support the candidate, but exact species work still needs a clear spider view because other Cyrtophora species make related structures.

Clues that are not enough on their own

• A three-dimensional web without the spider, because other Cyrtophora and unrelated tent or sheet webs can look similar
• A yellow, green, white or brown abdomen alone, because age, sex, moult and lighting change the pattern
• A web cluster treated as proof of one species or permanent social behaviour; northern adults may use communal lines but separate webs
• A flat or damaged sheet assumed to be a different spider when wind, repairs and viewpoint can hide the dome
• Queensland, New South Wales, Northern Territory or Western Australia locality used as a species diagnosis without body and web context
• A large female or tiny male assumed to be a separate species without checking the sex and nearby web structure

Colour, sex and life-stage variation

Do not expect one fixed colour form. Young females may look greenish yellow and white, while older females can become brown, black-and-white or more heavily patterned; scales, age, moult, dust and lighting alter the apparent contrast. Males are much smaller and can be overlooked in or near a female web. A female carrying eggs may look broader, and juveniles can share a web complex without matching adult proportions. The web also changes with age, weather and repairs: a fresh dome can look pale and regular, while an old web may be crowded with debris, prey remains and support threads. A flat-looking or partly damaged web is not automatically a different species, but a body-only photo without web context is weak evidence for C. moluccensis.

Behaviour, web and retreat

This spider builds a three-dimensional sheet rather than a sticky orb. The dense mesh intercepts flying or moving prey, and the surrounding support lines help maintain the dome in vegetation. The spider commonly rests beneath the sheet, upside down, and can retreat toward the hub or nearby foliage when disturbed. Egg sacs are strung above the dome. In northern Australia, adults may occupy loose colonies of separate webs attached to communal support lines; a cluster of webs is therefore useful context but not proof of one species or one family-level social system. Southern species and young spiders may be more solitary. Do not cut the support lines, shake the web or remove egg sacs to expose the spider: the web shape, central peak and upper/lower thread architecture are the key field evidence.

Australian distribution

The World Spider Catalog accepts Cyrtophora moluccensis across a broad Indo-Pacific range that includes Australia. Australian field sources document it commonly in Queensland, including south-east gardens and coastal areas, with records or reports from the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia; northern New South Wales is a cautious continuation of the warm eastern range and is retained as a discovery filter. These state buttons are broad search aids, not a claim that every Cyrtophora web in each state is C. moluccensis. The genus includes other Australian tent-web species such as C. hirta and C. exanthematica, and a damaged dome, a juvenile or a web without the spider may remain at Cyrtophora sp. Keep the locality, whole web, spider, sex and season with any record rather than extending the range from a colour match.

What to do if you find one

Leave the dome and its support lines intact. Photograph from the side and below without stepping into the web, include a wide view of the host plant, the full sheet and any upper egg sacs, and use a ruler beside the vegetation rather than touching the spider. Keep children and pets away from large webs at face height; relocate a branch only when safe and necessary. If an indoor or pathway web must be cleared, use a licensed pest or wildlife professional rather than sweeping through an occupied colony. These spiders are not known as medically significant. For a suspected minor bite, wash the area and apply a wrapped cold pack; seek medical advice for severe, worsening or unusual symptoms, and use emergency guidance if an unidentified large dark spider is involved. Do not collect the spider or preserve a web in a container.

Compare with similar spiders

Use body shape, web or retreat, location and behaviour together before settling on a likely match.

• Tent-web spider — Tent-web spider - this common-name route covers Cyrtophora species and is safer when a dome web is clear but the body or locality does not support C. moluccensis.
• Black house spider — Black house spider - Badumna can make a dense sheet or funnel around buildings, but its web is usually a retreating tangle or curtain rather than a suspended dome with upper and lower support lines.
• Brown house spider / cupboard spider — Brown house spider / cupboard spider - theridiid tangle webs can be messy and three-dimensional, yet they lack the broad non-sticky Cyrtophora sheet and central dome architecture.
• Daddy-long-legs spider — Daddy-long-legs spider - Pholcus may hang in a loose tangle web indoors, but long legs, a fragile irregular web and a building setting are different evidence from a sturdy outdoor tent web.

Sources for this profile

These accessible authoritative sources support the identification and bite-safety context on this page.

• Australian Faunal Directory: Cyrtophora moluccensis
• Atlas of Living Australia: Cyrtophora moluccensis
• World Spider Catalog: Cyrtophora moluccensis
• Australian Museum Web2Spider: Cyrtophora tent webs
• Fauna Portal: Australian Cyrtophora
• Lizard Island Field Guide: Cyrtophora moluccensis
• Brisbane Insects: Tent spider field account
• Western Australian Museum: Cyrtophora revision
• Wikimedia Commons: exact Cyrtophora moluccensis photograph
• healthdirect: Spider bites

Profile review

Published by Spider Identifier Australia. Last factual review: 13 August 2026.