Black and yellow argiope

Argiope aurantia

The black and yellow argiope is another orb weaver, and might possibly be confused with the golden silk orb weaver, but actually are quite different. Every night the female black and yellow argiope will eat her web and build a new one in the morning. Both genders are black with yellow and/or red stripes on it's back. The male will wander around looking for a mate in the early fall. The male will build a smaller web near the female's and will try to seduce the female by plucking the silk strands on her web. He then travels up her web, a safety line ready, in case the female tries to attack. The female will lay her egg sac in the fall and will usually die at the first frost. The babies will hatch from their eggs in the fall, maybe a few weeks after being lain. They will stay in the egg sac until spring, when they come out and travel by ballooning* to a different area. Females are significantly larger than the males, as with most spiders, males can be (excluding the legs) up to 1/3 of an inch long, and females can reach up to (also excluding the legs) 1.1 inches long. They will eat most any insect or bug that is smaller than them, although they have many predators too, such as the Carolina Chickadee (will try to do a post in the summer), the Striped skunk, the common yellowthroat, many other birds, some types of ducks, and a few large insects. Want to see some more of these big boys? Neat pictures can be found at this website. And, according to the people at carolinanature.com, argiope is pronounced ar-GUY-oh-pee. Who knew? Definitely not me. Wanna check out some more photos? More are located right here! Click it! You know you wanna... Just one more tidbit of information: this spider, like most orb weavers, is harmless to humans. Well, stay tuned, because next week is going to have EVEN MORE ORB WEAVERS!!! Yippee!

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argiope_aurantia

http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/black_and_yellow_argiope.htm

http://bugguide.net/node/view/2025

*Ballooning is when a spiderling will use a strand of silk to float in the air and carry it farther than they're able to walk.

Golden Silk Orb Weaver--

Nephila clavipes

The golden silk orb weaver--also known as the "banana spider," because of it's shape--is one of the largest--and the creepiest, I have to say--spiders I've heard of. As you can see, it is very big, seeing as it's about as big as an adult's hand. And to add to the creepy-meter, it's elbows are furry. A lot of times, because the spider is so big, when people see it, they want to kill it. But this spider is beneficiary to your house. It loves to eat mosquitoes, flies, sometimes even other spiders! So, instead of smushing it, get a long stick, and slowly wind the web around the stick, in a spiraling motion. The spider will follow it's web, and once the spider is on the stick, quickly move it to a spot that pleases you. The females of this species will sometimes eat their webs when they are done with it. And this spider is venomous, but not lethal. It usually causes redness, swelling, and itching, much like the reactions you get fro a black widow's bite, although it isn't as potent. In the fall and winter, the females with lay their egg sacs on a tree that is near the webs. The egg sacs are about an inch in diameter. The females' bodies are about two inches long, and with legs outstretched, they can be 4-6" wide. The males are noticeably smaller than the females, with their bodies being only 1/3 of an inch long. Crazy, huh? The Golden Silk Orb Weavers are called such because the adults' silk is a beautiful golden color. Did you know?: One million female orb weavers from Madagascar made this extraordinarily unique cloth from spider silk. I'm simply astonished at the amazing beauty of this wonderful piece of art. Wow, just wow. Who knew? Well, someone in the late 1890s thought they would try it, and they wove only a small piece, almost nothing compared to the vast size of that wonder. Well, I believe I am done for the day! See you next week! Buh-bye.

Spiny-Backed Orb Weaver--

Gasteracantha elipsoides

The spiny-backed orb weaver (you can obviously tell why it is called such) is quite easy to identify, as the spines on it's back are uniquely conspicuous. Spiny-backed orb weavers--also spelled Spinybacked, and Spiny Backed--usually have at least two colors on them, and are usually red, white, yellow, black and/or orange. It spans all across the southern United States from North Carolina to southern California. It is usually 0.08 in. to 0.4 inches, and you can see a comparison here. Like most orb weavers, the adults lay their eggs in fall-winter, die in the afterwards, and let their eggs hatch in the later. Although males have been found in every month--except December and January--they are most common in October and November. Females are found year-round, but they are most common in October-January. They are poisonous, but not poisonous to harm a human. Probably not even harmful enough to hurt a gerbil. Not saying that that I tried it, though... In October-January, the females will lay their eggs on the underside of a leaf, much like many butterflies do. The eggs hatch after about two weeks, after which for a few days they remain in a pink and white stage until molting into their adult figures, but still small, as are their webs. In late summer-early fall both their webs and bodies grow significantly in size. They live their boring lives until October, when they begin to mate. Webs can be from 1-7 yards from the ground.

Sources:

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/beneficial/g_cancriformis.htm

http://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Spiny-Backed-Orb-Weaver

Orb Weavers--

Family: Araneidae

Genus: Araneus

That spiny-backed orb weaver on the left looks pretty neat, huh? And on the right is a comparison between male and female orb weavers. Guess which one the male is? That would be the tiny speck near the top of the picture. Who knew that the female (if she could) would easily be able to swallow him whole. But she can't, luckily. Orb weaver females are usually the only ones to spin webs, as the males are usually on the ground trying to find a mate. This makes the females the ones most seen by humans. They spin webs very large, up to six feet or more in width. Just watch where you're going, as one of My sources say, just "be careful not to walk into their webs at night--the fright of this spider crawling over one's face can be terrifying and may cause a heart attack...*" Yes. Absolutely true, I say. And don't worry about getting bitten; their venom is not powerful enough to harm a human, although, as with all spider-bites, they should be washed thoroughly, as to prevent infection. Orb weavers make the kind of web that you would normally think of when you say "spider webs"(see image on the right). Some of them will make beautiful and intricate patterns on their webs. Most likely, Charlotte, from Charlotte's Web, was an orb weaver. Orb weavers lay their eggs in the late summer to fall, after which they die at the first frost. The eggs will survive through the winter, hatch in spring, mature in the early summer, and then
start the cycle all over again. Well, it's time for my post to die, but its eggs will hatch next week! Good-bye!

Sources:
http://www.insectidentification.org/insect-

description.asp?identification=Arboreal-Orb-Weaver

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orb-weaver_spider
http://bugguide.net/node/view/1972

http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/venanimals/ven_spidorb.html
*See the orb-weaver section.

Crab Spider--

Misumena vatia

The goldenrod crab spider is what my focus is this week! Another name that is used for this creature is the flower spider. It is yellow all around, and the young females can change colors at will, but over a long period of time. Changing from white to yellow take a little less than a month, about 10-25 days, while changing from yellow to white takes only about six. The reason crab spiders can change colors is because of a liquid yellow pigment they make secreting into the cells of the spider. It takes longer time to change from white to yellow, because the spider has to make the pigment before she can distribute it into her cells. The crab spider usually lives in flowers such as dandelions, which they blend in well with the petals, and sometimes the females will go to daisies, and change color to white. In spring and summer, the crab spider will eat bees and wasps pollinating the flower that little Miss Spider lives in. Crab spiders in general are called so because their front legs curve forward, much like the claws of a crab. In the picture above, the crab spider is pretending to be a flower. This may happen if one cannot find a flower to latch onto. Crab spider eggs are lain in late spring and summer. They will also eat mites, flies, butterflies, and pretty much anything it can get it's mouth on.