Spider pics - Black and Yellow Argiope

[cJw]

Heyas!

I lucked into hosting an Orb Weaver last week and got some great pics I wanted to share - here's one, with more @ my flickr site.

This spider, the 'Black and Yellow Argiope', is also known as a 'Garden Spider' or 'Writing Spider'. Generally, the female is larger and has about a 3" legspan, as this one did. Their venom is not dangerous to humans (except those with severe allergies), although I wasn't about to try to pet the thing. Gorgeous colors and not very timid, therefore a perfect photo subject.

 

[lmw80]

wow! that's an awesome pic! What type of camera are you using?

 

[severum mama]

Beautiful! I love it when I see garden spiders around my house. They are so pretty, and of course, I also like them because they never try to come IN my house. The last time we had a garden spider, I didn't have my camera yet.

 

[kimberly]

gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!

 

[QTOFFER]

Very nice photo!

Since you're into experimentation, you should try lightly misting the web. I once saw a Nat Geographic shot of a spider in its dew-soaked web - each droplet held the spider's reflection from a slightly different angle. Simply amazing pic that I haven't been able to replicate.

 

[cJw]

lmw80 - Kodak Easyshare CX7525: 5.0MP, 2560x1920 res (@ highest quality) and iirc, I was using a Macro Mode for this whole series of shots. We love it - quite nice our daughter got it for her 1st birthday. : grin :

severum mama - good point, this thing was just big enough to make me uncomfortable. We did find a black widow in our nursery right after the baby was born, though... my wife was a little freaked about that. We almost emptied the room, looking for an eggsack.

QTOFFER - Good idea! The web is long gone now; it didn't survive the rain on Sunday... but I'll have to remember that if/when I see another.

 

[Toirtis]

Great shot...I live them when they are in 'St. Andrews Cross' position.

 

[reefrunner69]

If you look (and it's easier to see on smaller ones) there is "the alien" on it's back Nice pic.

 

[deli_conker]

I saw this and thought that it looked kinda familiar. There's another board I post at where this guy goes hiking a lot. He posted a pic of a spider that he almost walked into. It looks similar to yours but is different. The guy lives in Canada.

Here's his pic...

 

[gsxrguru2]

found this gnarly looking guy while on vacation in SC I think its called a banana spider...

 

[Toirtis]

found this gnarly looking guy while on vacation in SC I think its called a banana spider...

Nope...another orb-weavier species....note the small (yet fully-grown) male to the lower-left.

 

[cJw]

I was in the process of IDing that spider yesterday and spent about an hour looking @ spid pics at this link. After a while, I started getting more and more uncomfortable looking at the pics, like I'd had enough crawly sensory input or somesuch.

I do have another (suspected) orb weaver pic in my flickr photostream, but it's a little less flamboyant :

Another spid pic from my yard :

Which I found out yesterday is an Orchard Spider.

 

[kimberly]

The orchard spider has some gorgeous colors on it!