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| This one's currently living along our front sidewalk, see how it's got it's fangs on the web so it can detect the slightest movement. |
...Is the beautiful Argiope aurantia, or as we like to call them, writing spiders. They're called writing spiders because they "write" a zig-zag stripe vertically down the middle of their web. I don't know why I like them so much, but I do. When I was younger, I always considered them as temporary yard pets (and I still do). If I found one, I would feed it, sweeping my hands through the grass to catch a moth or two, then throw it onto the spider's web and watch it get snatched and wrapped up by the spider.
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| This one's a female. |
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| She had a male (who is much smaller) visit a couple of days ago, so I hope I see an egg case soon! |
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| I found this one down by the river this morning. |
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| She has quite possibly the largest abdomen I've ever seen on a writing spider. |
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| Look at that profile! |
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| She built her web right over a huge patch of Common Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum). Smart girl, that's why she looks so well-fed! |
Congratulations! You made it all the way to the bottom of this post without turning away! I salute you for not being too creeped out by spiders!
If you need to brush up on your spider anatomy, here's a cute diagram I found:
I get it...your "fave-o-write" spider. Ha, ha good one.
ReplyDeleteI like spiders too, though I've always let them find their own meals. Excellent photos.
ReplyDeleteQuite interesting colours on that spider. Like a warning, yellow and black. It's hard work to wave that all...
ReplyDeleteYour photos are actually quite beautiful even though I share the common aversion to spiders. Loved the spoof of spider anatomy at the end! Made me laugh out loud. . . .
ReplyDeleteI enjoy finding these in my habitat as well. :) Nice to see that I'm not alone.
ReplyDeleteAs a young teen, I liked the look of them, but they did creep me out just a bit--well, I'd often find them blocking my path with their web, and I'd end up going another way around.
I was thrilled to find them here...they were one of the first things to show up my first year here. I enjoy them more as an adult...then again, they've yet to block my paths yet. :)