zOMG!!! Check out this spider that's out by my mailbox! (pics inside)

This spider and her web are HUGE!!! I went to check my mail when I got home from work today, and I almost jumped out of my skin when I saw her! I think spiders are beautiful creatures and they serve an important purpose in nature...but I definitely respect them from a distance!

This was quite a nice surprise! :)

Pic 1: I tried to get a good shot of her web to show the size of it, but it didn't turn out too well. The spider is in the center of the picture by the thick, white, vertical line of webbing.



Pic 2: I took a good pic here with the sunlight reflecting off of her web. You can also see the distinct yellow markings on her back. That's my silver Corolla in the background.



Pic 3: I took a close up of her underside. The quality of this pic is not as good since the sun is behind me, but you can still see some of her web. I basically just took this picture to illustrate her size.

IMPRESSIVE

The markings on her back are very striking. :)

Waits for you to come out...and then STRIKES!

She's huge, I tell ya, freaking HUGE! With her legs stretched out, I don't think she's much smalled (lengthwise) than my hand!

She's so arachnaphobic that even tiny critters give her the shakes. This would kill her stone dead.

and love many creepy crawlies ( I LOVE snakes particularly) but for some reason, spiders give me the shivers..maybe because as a child a neighborhood friend used to tease me by pulling off the legs of daddy long legs..(I'm still really horrified by that particular spider).
I appreciate what they do..but I prefer to admire from a distance..:scared:

I'm learning to get over my fear of (most of) them... that's a beautiful one! Wow to the size!

Harmless, although, if you touch her web, you can feel the strength in her legs as she bounces the web at you telling you to "Back off!"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_garden_spider

You can still get your mail. Just talk to her first or wait a day or two. Look for the egg sac first though. This is the right time of year for them to lay their egg sacs. They tear their webs down every day or two, until they lay their eggs. Then, you'll just have to brave it. They aren't bad. I'm terrified of spiders, normally, but I love those.

Thanks for the information. I had no idea what kind of spider she was, and I'm glad I know a little more about them now. Fascinating creatures!

And I'll definitely keep my eyes open for the egg sac! :hi:

She's my new pet.

I keep my shade up at night till I go to sleep so that the light will attract insects to her web.

In turn, she gives me a brand new web about everyday, and an incredible view of the life of a spider.

I've seen her molt 2 times already, and I saw her mate with a male spider, and then she spun him up and ate him RIGHT after, lol. She's a little psycho (just kidding, I know that's what they all do).



They die at the first freeze, but she has already laid one HUGE brown sack of eggs... I'll leave it alone and hopefully next spring one of her babies will set up residence outside my window.

When I looked up the info on the internet tubes, I found out the zig-zag part of the web is spun by the male. They are pretty cool.

Perfectly harmless, i know... but tell that to someone like me that's arachnophobic because of a spider-to-face encounter with one of those when i was 6. *shudder*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argiope_(spider)

eidt: oops, I see Jamastiene got there first!

have here in NC. :D

:scared:

The theme is "Let's Get Small!"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=280x46225

I had no idea about the contest, but I think I will enter her. When I get home today, I'll see if I can get some closer shots of her. I'll have to use the camera zoom and a steady hand, though, because I'm not getting any closer to her!

:scared:

Be a bit careful...

I used to be terrified of spiders when I was young. I think that my two older brothers must have put one in my crib or made me eat one. I appreciate them now and when I have one in the house, I catch it and put it outside. Spiders webs are a piece of art, though. And yeah, you should enter her in the photography contest- maybe we could have a contest to name her!

(that is the size of a silver dollar) could make some enormous babies together.

It is amazing to watch them. If you throw a leaf or twig into the web she will scurry over to check out her catch but when she realizes it is something undesirable she will detach it and let it drop. But if you pitch her a fly, grasshopper or other juicy morsel she will either start to dine on it or if she is not hungry you will see how fast she can wrap it up in a nice little web package.

She may be a predator but remember that her size is somewhat of a problem for her. One year we had one that grew to be huge. On one of my daily walks through the garden I was saddened to see her web torn up and her egg sack abandoned. My guess was that some keen-eyed bird had a tasty lunch.

I tell that to my wife every time she begs me to kill one. But she never listens.

Here's one that lives in a bush in my front yard!

they have written something in their web :D

Nice pics,,,thanks for sharing and Happy Birthday :party:

Thanks, Tuesday Afternoon! :hi:

Or would that entail crawling in your bushes?

I'll try when I get home tonight, and post up a pic if I can get a good one. :hi:

I call these orb spiders but I may be wrong. I am not a spider expert. I have them here in my yard too.

Just hanging around, not bothering anybody.


Immediately after molting.

A North American Fishing Spider. He wandered in from the lake, I suppose, and set up shop in the unfinished part of the basement. One day he wandered into the finished part of the basement, and one of the cats got him.

mikey_the_rat