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And should I run for the hills?!! It's huge! This is it's underbelly, but the design looks similar on top. I couldn't get a picture of it from the top as it's too close to the house. It spun a web off the garden hose holder and the brick on the house. You can see how huge it is. The brick sizes are the standard size. Anyway.....is this poisonous?
It looks like a writing spider. We have one near our back deck. They can create some pretty impressive webs and are relatively harmless. There's a lot of folklore connected to them.
Can't tell for sure, but I think it's an Argiope. I snapped a picture of one the other day while out on a walk. Does it look like the same beast?
Funny story: When I was in elementary school, probably 7 or 8 years old, I captured one of these out behind the playground in a bushy area. I had it in a margarine container that my mother packed in my lunch and I put it in my lunchbox for safe-keeping until I got home. Well. . . . . .the afternoon went on, I rode home on the bus, and I forgot all about Mr Argiope. . . . . . until my mother let out a blood curdling scream. She found the spider while unpacking my lunchbox after school
We had one of these living on our back deck for well over two months this summer. What fun to watch! She would move incredibly fast once a "prey item" was trapped in her web. She got bigger and bigger until finally....she disappeared! Sorry to see her gone, really.
That looks like an argiope, also known as a writing spider. They are harmless to humans. This website has some better pictures that will help with identification.
I know they look scary but they're totally harmless (and catch a lot of pesky bugs). I usually leave them right where they are. They'll all be gone om a week or two, this is the "season" for them right now.
Thanks everyone!! I had no idea what it was, but it looked pretty fierce to me. Glad to know it's harmless!
What's the fokelore around it???
Some folklore and facts....
This is the same type of spider that the story Charlottes Web by E.B. White was based on. (whenever we have one in the yard, we refer to her as Charlotte, I always loved that story).
They only live for one season, they hatch out of their egg sacks in the spring, and in the fall they spin large webs and then produce their own egg sacks for spring hatching. Usually they will get up atleast 2 or 3 egg sacks.
The first good cold night will kill her, which is sad to me.
She will usually look for a good protected area to build her web in, once it becomes too damaged from prey or intruders, she will move and start a new web, but she won't go very far.
The only Folklore I know attributed with them is that if you can read your name in her heavy silk zig-zags you will die.
We have one on the side of my house right now, and just since yesterday she has put up her third egg sack.
I really hate spiders, but she is the only one I will really go out of my way not to disturb, I actually think she is a pretty one.
This is the same type of spider that the story Charlottes Web by E.B. White was based on. (whenever we have one in the yard, we refer to her as Charlotte, I always loved that story).
They only live for one season, they hatch out of their egg sacks in the spring, and in the fall they spin large webs and then produce their own egg sacks for spring hatching. Usually they will get up atleast 2 or 3 egg sacks.
The first good cold night will kill her, which is sad to me.
She will usually look for a good protected area to build her web in, once it becomes too damaged from prey or intruders, she will move and start a new web, but she won't go very far.
The only Folklore I know attributed with them is that if you can read your name in her heavy silk zig-zags you will die.
We have one on the side of my house right now, and just since yesterday she has put up her third egg sack.
I really hate spiders, but she is the only one I will really go out of my way not to disturb, I actually think she is a pretty one.
That's really cool, Tassy! Thanks for that info! I won't look to see if my name is spelled in the web.
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Spider
Does it look like this one?
