Found this guy hard at work yesterday.
[img]https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb267/plkelly/IMG_2558.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb267/plkelly/IMG_2564.jpg[/img]
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vintagejuls
- Green Thumb
- Posts: 429
- Joined: Sat Apr 11, 2009 4:12 am
- Location: Southern California / USDA Zone 10
Found the above online and thought some might be interested. Also decided that this is a female from other information in the article. The females hang upside down behind the web's 'zig zag' which is where she was, and also keep their egg sac on the web where they can guard it. If you look at the second picture you can see the sac on the far right. She will die with the first frost, and her babies will hatch in spring--some will stay here, and others will drift with the wind on strands of silk. Just like in Charlotte's Web.Garden Spiders often build webs in areas adjacent to open sunny fields where they stay concealed and protected from the wind. The spider can also be found along the eaves of houses and outbuildings or in any tall vegetation where they can securely stretch a web. The circular part of the female's web may reach two feet in diameter. Webs are built at elevations from two to eight feet off the ground.
Female Argiope aurantia spiders tend to be somewhat local, often staying in one place throughout much of their lifetime.
The web of the yellow garden spider is distinctive: a circular shape up to 2 feet in diameter, with a dense zigzag of silk, known as a stabilimentum, in the center. The purpose of the stabilimentum is disputed. It is possible that it acts as camouflage for the spider lurking in the web's center, but it may also attract insect prey, or even warn birds of the presence of the otherwise difficult-to-see web. Only those spiders that are active during the day construct stabilimenta in their webs.
The web is situated by some asters that will bloom this fall.
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hendi_alex
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 3604
- Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:58 am
- Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina
We have quite a few of these garden spiders here each year. The tangle in the web is not an egg sack but probably just left overs from a meal. The egg sack is quite large and will likely not be produced for another month or two. I read somewhere that the zig zag puts out a spectrum of light that attracts insects, much as bugs are drawn to a light bulb. I don't remember the source of that tid bit, so don't know how reliable the info is. Very nice photo. Here is one of our garden spiders from last year.
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3031/2745614754_5d6475113f.jpg[/img]
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3031/2745614754_5d6475113f.jpg[/img]
Thanks for the correction--I'll keep an eye out for the real one. Hopefully nothing will disturb the web, it's pretty low and located where the dogs might brush it.Return to “Wildlife - Gardening with Local Critters in Mind”