Blue-and-yellow Macaw vs Cobweb weaver

Ara ararauna compared with Steatoda nobilis

Key Differences

• Blue-and-yellow Macaw is Least Concern while Cobweb weaver is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blue-and-yellow Macaw	Cobweb weaver
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Arachnida (Arachnids)
Order	Psittaciformes (Parrots)	Araneae (Araneae)
Family	Psittacidae (True Parrots)	Theridiidae
Genus	Ara (Macaws)	Steatoda
Species	Ara ararauna	Steatoda nobilis

Evolutionary Relationship

Blue-and-yellow Macaw and Cobweb weaver share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Blue-and-yellow Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Cobweb weaver

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blue-and-yellow Macaw	Cobweb weaver
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Blue-and-yellow Macaw

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (5 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

Cobweb weaver

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial habitats from forests to deserts.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (7 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Ecuador).

Blue-and-yellow Macaw

One of the most striking and widely kept macaw species, blue-and-yellow macaws display brilliant cobalt blue upper parts contrasting with vivid yellow underparts and green forehead. They inhabit forest, woodland, and savanna from eastern Panama through Venezuela, Brazil, and Bolivia to Peru and Ecuador. Highly intelligent, they live in pairs or small flocks, feeding on palm nuts, seeds, and fruit. Popular in aviculture for over 400 years, they can live 80+ years in captivity.

Cobweb weaver

The noble false widow (Steatoda nobilis) is a theridiid spider that has attracted considerable media attention in the British Isles and along the Atlantic coast of Europe due to its painful but rarely dangerous bite and its rapid range expansion facilitated by human activity. Originally native to the Canary Islands and Madeira, the species arrived in southern England during the 19th century, likely via banana shipments, and has since spread northward through Britain and westward into Ireland, while also establishing populations along the Iberian Peninsula and Atlantic France. Females are robust, with a dark brown carapace and a distinctive cream-colored pattern on the bulbous abdomen that varies between individuals; females reach 8.5–14 millimeters in body length, making this one of the larger European theridiids. The species constructs persistent, tangled cobwebs in sheltered locations outside buildings—under window ledges, in door frames, and in garden walls—as well as within homes in cooler seasons. It is a generalist predator, capturing insects and other invertebrates, and has been reported to occasionally subdue prey considerably larger than itself, including small lizards. Steatoda nobilis venom produces steatodism, which can cause localized pain, swelling, and in rare cases systemic symptoms. Its conservation status has not been formally assessed, but its expanding range demonstrates considerable resilience.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 6 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇫🇷 France 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States