A Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) cDNA was cloned from the spider, Araneus ventricosus. The A. ventricosus SOD1 (AvSOD1) cDNA contains an open reading frame of 495 bp encoding 165 amino acid polypeptide with a predicted molecular mass of 17,114 Da and pI of 6.55, and possesses the typical metal binding ligands of six histidines and one aspartic acid common to SOD1s. The deduced amino acid sequence of the AvSOD1 cDNA showed $51\%$ identity to Ceratitis capitata SOD1, and $50\%$ to SOD1 sequences of both Drosophila melanogaster and Chymomyza amoena. Northern blot analysis revealed the presence of AvSOD1 transcripts in all tissues examined.