The lifespan of a spider ranges from a few months to multiple decades. While many species complete their entire life cycle within a single year, others, particularly the larger, burrowing types, live for extended periods. Survival time is heavily dependent on the specific species and the environment it inhabits. For example, some tarantulas and trapdoor spiders are known to live for over 20 years, a stark contrast to the short lives of many common house spiders.
Lifespan Differences Between Male and Female Spiders
A spider’s sex is often the strongest predictor of its total lifespan, with females consistently living longer than males. This difference is tied to their reproductive strategies and the timing of their final molt. Males generally reach sexual maturity much faster than females, resulting in a significantly shorter post-maturity life focused on finding a mate.
Many male spiders die naturally shortly after mating, or they are consumed by the female in sexual cannibalism. The rapid aging in males is linked to the high energetic expenditure associated with reproduction. For instance, male tarantulas may live only one to two years after reaching maturity, while females of the same species can survive for another 15 to 20 years, continuing to molt and reproduce multiple times.
Lifespans of Common Household Spiders
Spiders commonly found indoors benefit from a stable, protected environment, allowing them to reach the higher end of their potential lifespan. The common house spider typically lives for about one to two years in sheltered conditions. Females often construct messy, tangled webs in undisturbed corners, where they reproduce and maintain their territory.
Cellar spiders are also long-lived household residents, with some individuals surviving for one to two years. In contrast, the brown recluse spider has a long lifespan for a non-burrowing species, often living for one to three years. These spiders are resilient, capable of surviving for several months without food or water, contributing to their extended tenure in dark, dry areas like closets and basements.
Lifespans of Common Garden Spiders
Spiders that live exclusively outdoors are heavily influenced by environmental fluctuations, resulting in shorter, more seasonal lifecycles. Many common orb-weaver species follow an annual pattern. Adults typically emerge and mature in the summer, mate in the fall, and then die with the arrival of the first hard frost, leaving behind egg sacs to overwinter.
Jumping spiders, small, active hunters commonly observed on sunny walls and foliage, usually have a lifespan of less than one year in the wild. Their survival is closely tied to the warm months, though some individuals may survive longer in milder climates. Wolf spiders, which are ground-dwelling hunters, often live for one to two years. The smaller males typically expire within a year, while the larger, egg-carrying females often survive a second season.
Factors Influencing Spider Longevity
While species and sex dictate a spider’s potential lifespan, several variables determine an individual’s actual survival time. As ectotherms, spiders are affected by temperature. Extreme cold, such as a severe frost, is a major cause of mortality for most temperate zone species. Conversely, very high temperatures increase their metabolic rate, leading to higher stress and mortality.
The availability of food is another factor, as prolonged starvation weakens the spider and increases its vulnerability to predators and disease. Predation pressure from birds, reptiles, and specialized parasitoid wasps can dramatically shorten a spider’s life. Furthermore, the molting process is a period of high risk. During this time, the soft, newly exposed body is vulnerable to injury or attack.