Southeast US: mystery spider

[pipisafoat]

I have been meaning to get a picture of this spider for identification purposes (I think it's an orb weaver? Any thoughts on that definitely welcome!), and I sort of got distracted while I was out there.

All these pictures can be clicked for larger/uncropped, but those are pretty huge, so click at your own bandwidth's risk.

This particular spider likes her web to be right beside the sidewalk between the front door and my car. This is only a problem because she scared me quite a bit the first time I saw her. Huge! Brightly colored! MOVING!!

Comments

[loligo]

My guess would be some sort of orb-weaver, too, but there's like 10,000 different species of those, so beyond that I haven't a clue!

She has the same general look as the spider that makes a web outside our kitchen door, between the porch railing and the roof. I don't know how long the lifespan is for these guys -- every year in the late summer & early fall, there's a spider in that spot, but I don't know if it's always the same one, or if it's just prime territory that attracts a new spider each year.

[pipisafoat]

She doesn't seem inclined to really move from that spot, that's for sure. My sister & her husband have an orb weaver on their back porch (named Tracy because she traces zigzag lines in her webs) that likes to move around the porch but never really leave it. They actually got to watch an Epic Battle not too long ago between Tracy and a praying mantis. (Sister says she was rooting for Tracy because the praying mantis looked vicious and scary. I am amused.) Tracy's webs are a lot bigger than this spider's though. But I guess that doesn't mean this one can't be an orb weaver!

Looks like this one might have caught a small bee? She did set up shop right beside the bee-friendly bush! She hasn't moved since we first saw her Sunday morning. I wonder how long her web will stay there.

I like to think that you get the same spider every year! Who thinks of you as friends and lovely hosts of this great web spot.

[crumpetsfortaenia]

Argiope aurantia. They're very common, but excellent spiders.

[pipisafoat]

Oh wow! Thank you!

[untonuggan]

I don't know, but cool photos!

[pipisafoat]

There is a flower I would like to share too, but it seems to bloom only in the mornings? So I'll have to remember to take my camera out tomorrow morning and catch it.

[untonuggan]

Any luck?

[pipisafoat]

actually it wasn't blooming this morning; I really have no idea what's going on with that. but I did get some other flowers that were blooming! Probably I won't get them up tonight (resizing and whatnot, ugh) but soon!

[greenwitch]

Oooh, these make the most awesome zig-zag webs. I had one of these outside my back door once with almost exactly the same web as it looked in this pic

[pipisafoat]

This one's zigzag looked much better a couple days ago before she caught that bee. But she's moved now! I can't find her new web, but I'm going to try to find it and get a pristine zag picture.