Cave Spider

For the non-poisonous mob, see Spider. For the mob in Minecraft Dungeons, see MCD:Cave Spider.
Cave Spider
Cave Spider.png: Infobox image for Cave Spider the entity in Minecraft
Invicon Cave Spider Spawn Egg.png: Inventory sprite for Cave Spider Spawn Egg in Minecraft as shown in-game with description: Cave Spider Spawn Egg
Health points

12HP♥ × 6

Behavior

Neutral (if light level 12 or above)
Hostile (if light level 11 or below)

Mob type

Arthropod, Monster

Attack
strength

Easy: 2HP♥
Normal: 2HP♥
Hard: 3HP♥♥
Venom:
1HP♥ per 1.25 seconds
Normal: Poison for 7 seconds (HP♥♥♥)
Hard: Poison for 15 seconds (HP♥ × 6)

Hitbox size

Height: 0.5 blocks
Width: 0.7 blocks

Speed

0.3

Spawn

Cave spiders are a smaller variant of the spider that inflict Poison with their attacks. They are exclusively spawned by monster spawners found in mineshafts, and trial spawners found in trial chambers.

Spawning

Size of a cave spider (left) compared to a regular spider (right).

The cave spider is one of the only two mobs in the game to spawn exclusively from spawners, the other being the breeze.

Monster spawners

Cave spiders spawn from monster spawners in mineshafts at a light level of 0. These monster spawners are surrounded by cobwebs in corridors.

Trial spawners

Cave spiders have a 25% chance to be selected as the "small melee" mob for trial spawners in trial chambers.

Drops

On death

Java Edition:

ItemQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
String0–266.67%1.000–383.33%1.500–491.67%2.000–594.44%2.50
Spider Eye[A]0–133.33%0.330–266.67%0.830–383.33%1.330–488.89%1.83

ItemQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
String0–22310–356320–4111220–5171852
Spider Eye[A]0–113130–223560–356430–489116

ItemAmountProbability
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
String013 (33.33%)16 (16.67%)112 (8.33%)118 (5.56%)
113 (33.33%)13 (33.33%)14 (25.00%)16 (16.67%)
213 (33.33%)13 (33.33%)13 (33.33%)518 (27.78%)
3016 (16.67%)14 (25.00%)518 (27.78%)
400112 (8.33%)16 (16.67%)
5000118 (5.56%)
Average1 (1.00)32 (1.50)2 (2.00)52 (2.50)
Spider Eye[A]023 (66.67%)13 (33.33%)16 (16.67%)19 (11.11%)
113 (33.33%)12 (50.00%)512 (41.67%)518 (27.78%)
2016 (16.67%)13 (33.33%)13 (33.33%)
300112 (8.33%)29 (22.22%)
4000118 (5.56%)
Average13 (0.33)56 (0.83)43 (1.33)116 (1.83)

Killed1
ItemExpected Drop
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
String1.001.502.002.50
Spider Eye[A]0.330.831.331.83

  1. Only when killed by a player or a tamed wolf.

Bedrock Edition:

ItemQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
String0–266.67%1.000–366.67%1.330–466.67%1.670–566.67%2.00
Spider Eye[A]0–150.00%0.500–250.00%0.750–350.00%1.000–450.00%1.25

ItemQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
String0–22310–323430–423530–5232
Spider Eye[A]0–112120–212340–31210–41254

ItemAmountProbability
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
String013 (33.33%)13 (33.33%)13 (33.33%)13 (33.33%)
113 (33.33%)16 (16.67%)112 (8.33%)118 (5.56%)
213 (33.33%)13 (33.33%)14 (25.00%)16 (16.67%)
3016 (16.67%)14 (25.00%)29 (22.22%)
400112 (8.33%)16 (16.67%)
5000118 (5.56%)
Average1 (1.00)43 (1.33)53 (1.67)2 (2.00)
Spider Eye[A]012 (50.00%)12 (50.00%)12 (50.00%)12 (50.00%)
112 (50.00%)14 (25.00%)18 (12.50%)112 (8.33%)
2014 (25.00%)14 (25.00%)16 (16.67%)
30018 (12.50%)16 (16.67%)
4000112 (8.33%)
Average12 (0.50)34 (0.75)1 (1.00)54 (1.25)

Killed1
ItemExpected Drop
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
String1.001.331.672.00
Spider Eye[A]0.500.751.001.25

  1. Only when killed by a player.

Behavior

Cave spiders inherit their behavior from spiders:

  • Neutral if under daylight or in light levels of 12 or above, otherwise hostile toward players and iron golems. Once they become hostile, light does not affect them.
  • Attack by leaping and biting.
  • Are unaffected by cobwebs and Poison.
  • Are scared of armadillos.

They have some distinctions from regular spiders:

  • Can fit through a space that is one block wide and 12 block tall.
  • Can go through the spaces between two different types of (unconnected) fences.
  • Cannot spawn with status effects in Hard difficulty.‌
  • Flip 90° upon death‌[1]

Being arthropods, they are weak against weapons with the Bane of Arthropods enchantment.

Poison

On Normal or Hard difficulty, cave spiders inflict Poison upon attacking.[2] On Normal difficulty, the Poison lasts for 7 seconds and causes 6HP♥♥♥ damage. On Hard difficulty, it lasts for 15 seconds and causes 12HP♥ × 6. Poison damage is not taken when the player's health is at 1HP♥.

Sounds

Java Edition:
Cave spiders use the Hostile Creatures sound category for entity-dependent sound events.

Sounds
SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
​Spider hisses [sound 1]Hostile MobsRandomlyentity.spider.ambient[sound 1]subtitles.entity.spider.ambient​​[sound 1]1.00.8-1.216
​Spider dies [sound 1]Hostile MobsWhen a cave spider diesentity.spider.death[sound 1]subtitles.entity.spider.death​​[sound 1]1.00.8-1.216
​Spider hurts [sound 1]Hostile MobsWhen a cave spider is damagedentity.spider.hurt[sound 1]subtitles.entity.spider.hurt​​[sound 1]1.00.8-1.216
​FootstepsHostile MobsWhile a cave spider is walkingentity.spider.step[sound 1]subtitles.generic.block.footsteps0.151.016
  1. a b c d e f g h i j The cave spider reuses all of the spider's sound events instead of having its own, resulting in these somewhat unintuitive subtitles - see MC-98316

Bedrock Edition:

Sounds
SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch
Hostile Creatures‌
Hostile Mobs​
Randomlymob.spider.say1.00.8-1.2
Hostile Creatures‌
Hostile Mobs​
When a cave spider diesmob.spider.death1.00.8-1.2
Hostile Creatures‌
Hostile Mobs​
When a cave spider is damagedmob.spider.say1.00.8-1.2
Hostile Creatures‌
Hostile Mobs​
While a cave spider is walkingmob.spider.step0.350.9-1.1

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

NameIdentifierEntity tagsTranslation key
EntitySprite cave-spider.png: Sprite image for cave-spider in Minecraft Cave Spidercave_spiderarthropod
no_anger_from_wind_charge
sensitive_to_bane_of_arthropods
entity.minecraft.cave_spider

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifierNumeric ID Translation key
EntitySprite cave-spider.png: Sprite image for cave-spider in Minecraft Cave Spidercave_spider40entity.cave_spider.name

Entity data

Cave spiders have entity data associated with them that contains various properties.

Java Edition:

Main article: Entity format
  • [NBT Compound / JSON Object] Entity data
    • Tags common to all entities see Template:Nbt inherit/entity/template
    • Tags common to all mobs see Template:Nbt inherit/mob/template

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Entity format.

Achievements

IconAchievementIn-game descriptionActual requirements (if different)Gamerscore earnedTrophy type (PS)
PS4Other
It SpreadsKill a mob next to a catalyst10Bronze
Monster HunterAttack and destroy a monster.Kill a hostile mob or one of the following neutral mobs: an enderman, a piglin, a zombified piglin, a spider, or a cave spider.15Bronze
OverkillDeal nine hearts of damage in a single hit.Damage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have nine hearts of health overall.30Bronze
Over-OverkillDeal 50 hearts of damage in a single hit using the MaceDamage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have 50 hearts of health overall.20Silver

Advancements

IconAdvancementIn-game descriptionActual requirements (if different)
A Throwaway JokeThrow a Trident at something.
Note: Throwing away your only weapon is not a good idea.
Hit a mob with a thrown trident.
AdventureAdventure, exploration and combatKill any mob, or be killed by any living entity.
ArbalisticKill five unique mobs with one crossbow shotArmor Stand also counts for this advancement.
This is a hidden advancement, meaning that it can be viewed by the player only after completing it, regardless of if its child advancement(s), if any, have been completed.
It SpreadsKill a mob near a Sculk Catalyst Mobs that drop no experience as well as the ender dragon are ignored for this advancement.
Monster HunterKill any hostile monster Other mobs may be killed, but are ignored for this advancement.
Monsters HuntedKill one of every hostile monster Other mobs may be killed, but are ignored for this advancement.
Over-OverkillDeal 50 hearts of damage in a single hit using the MaceDamage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have 50 hearts of health overall.
Take AimShoot something with an ArrowUsing a bow or a crossbow, shoot a mob with an arrow, tipped arrow, or spectral arrow.

History

Java Edition Beta
1.8Pre-release Added cave spiders.
Java Edition
1.0.0Beta 1.9 Prerelease 2Cave spiders now drop 0-1 spider eye when killed by a player or tamed wolf.
The cave spider's health points have been reduced from 20HP♥ × 10 to 12HP♥ × 6.
Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4Cave spiders are now immune to the Poison status effect.
Cave spiders are now considered arthropods.
1.2.112w06aCave spiders now swim extremely fast with the water stream toward the player, but seem to be almost not moving against the water stream.
Cave spiders can now climb ice blocks.
1.7.21.7Cave spiders no longer attack after being provoked by players in Creative mode.
1.814w06aCave spiders no longer draw a line of sight through opaque blocks.
Cave spiders have been given the new AI that regular spiders have received.
14w11aCave spiders now run away from creepers that are about to explode.
?The cave spider's venom is no longer neutralized by splash potions of weakness, which may or may not be a bug.
1.8.1pre1Cave spiders no longer run away from creepers that are about to explode.
October 16, 2017 Jasper Boerstra tweets an image of an updated cave spider texture.
1.1418w43a The texture of cave spiders has been changed.
1.1620w10aFirework damage now provokes cave spiders.[3]
1.1922w11a Fixed texture mapping of cave spiders.[4]
1.20.3
Experiment
Update 1.21
23w45aCave spiders now spawn in trial chambers behind the "Update 1.21" experimental data pack.
1.20.524w03aCave spiders are now scared of armadillos when not in a rolled up state.
1.20.5
Experiment
Update 1.21
24w04aCave spiders no longer retaliate against attacks from the breeze.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.11.0build 1 Added cave spiders with their jockey variant.
v0.12.1build 1Cave spiders now have a walking sound.
Cave spiders can now spawn with wither skeletons riding them when spawning as a spider jockey in the Nether.
Cave spiders now drop spider eyes.
v0.14.0build 1Cave spiders can be ridden by baby zombies and baby zombie villagers.
v0.15.0build 1Cave spiders can now spawn with strays riding them when spawning as a spider jockey in snowy biomes with a view of the sky.
Cave spiders can be ridden by baby husks.
Pocket Edition
1.1.0alpha 1.1.0.0The cave spider's Poison time from attack has been changed to be based on difficulty.
Bedrock Edition
1.10.0beta 1.10.0.3 The texture of cave spiders has been changed.
1.19.0Preview 1.19.0.21 Fixed texture mapping of cave spiders.[5]
1.20.60
Experiment
Update 1.21
Preview 1.20.60.20Cave spiders now spawn in trial chambers behind the "Update 1.21" experimental toggle.
1.20.70
Experiment
Armadillo and Wolf Armor
Preview 1.20.70.20Cave spiders now flee from armadillos that are not rolled up.
1.20.70
Experiment
Update 1.21
Preview 1.20.70.21Cave spiders no longer retaliate against attacks from breezes.
Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360Xbox OnePS3PS4PS VitaWii USwitch
TU5CU11.001.001.00Patch 11.0.1 Added cave spiders. They are as large as regular spiders.
TU9The size of cave spiders has been corrected.
TU12Cave spiders now swim extremely fast with the water stream toward the player, but seem to be almost motionless against the water stream.
Cave spiders can now climb ice blocks.
1.90 The texture of cave spiders has been changed.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0 Added cave spiders.

Data history

Java Edition
1.1116w32aThe cave spider's entity ID has been changed from CaveSpider to cave_spider.
1.1317w47aNumeric IDs for entities were presumably deprecated in this version.​
Pocket Edition
1.1.0alpha 1.1.0.0The cave spider's entity ID has been changed from cavespider to cave_spider.

Issues

Issues relating to "Cave Spider" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

  • While a cave spider's hitbox is only 13.9% the volume of a normal spider's, its model's volume is 34.3% as large. The shadow is even larger: compared to the normal spider's shadow it has an area of 49%.

Gallery

Screenshots

Textures

In other media

See also

References

  1. MCPE-41417 — resolved as "Won't Fix".
  2. "Your health hearts turn yellowish"@jeb_ (Jens Bergensten) on X (formerly Twitter), September 2, 2011
  3. MC-111498 — Fireworks and water bottles damage don't make neutral mobs angry or hostile — resolved as "Fixed".
  4. MC-127885 — resolved as "Fixed".
  5. MC-127885 — resolved as "Fixed".

External links

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