Spider or Pest on Money Tree? Web-Building Intruder Is Likely a Harmless Spider

A half-inch, grey, black-striped, spider-shaped insect built a thick "cotton candy" web on a money tree leaf, scurried when disturbed. The expert concluded: it's a spider, not a plant pest. Spiders are visual hunters that flee; pests are not. The web is classic spider architecture.

Leaf damage is likely from something else (check for spider mites—tiny, red, stippling leaves). For spider mites, insecticidal soap (see guide) is the top remedy. The spider is beneficial—it eats pests.