Not a night-crawler
This spider has an enormous web, probably 30 – 40 cm in diameter. I’ve only seen the spider at night, hence the crummy photo. It’s probably in the orb weaving family, Araneidae. From Chris Mallory in another post:
RE: spider families: if your spider makes a big web like this, you know, the “charlotte’s web” type web, then it is an orbweaver, family Araneidae. Cobweb spiders and house spiders (as well as widows) belong to a different family, the Theridiidae. If you’ve seen webs from any of these things, you could see that the two webs are nothing alike. They aren’t called “cobweb spiders” for no reason. This fact alone could rule out the possibility of a house spider even if the spider wasn’t present. Back to Orbweavers, aka “garden spiders”: there is not just one single species, with “yellow and black striped with a very noticeable white zig zag strand in the middle of the web.” There are about 4000 species. Though they all make this kind of web more or less, almost none of them fit that discription.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/107896084561441926092/posts/cptvFkYjJba
Because of my broken wrist, I won’t be as active on G+.
More spider science links for #ScienceSunday and #SpiderSunday
Open the Spigot for Science
ScienceShot: Spider Dies From Sex
August 17, 2014
awesome spider Chad Haney,.hope the wrist heals quickly!
August 17, 2014
Thanks Heidi Bouman. It’s a big spider, about the size of my thumb.
August 17, 2014
Hope your wrist feels better soon Chad Haney
The spider looks like he’s got a smiley face on his back 🙂
August 17, 2014
Ooooh, I like the name orbweaver. A bright orange-and-green garden spider fell (or jumped?) out of a tree and almost landed on me once. Aside from being scared out of my wits, I have to say I found it strikingly beautiful!
August 17, 2014
Thanks Anna Robertson Davis
I agree Liz Krane, some spiders are beautiful.
August 17, 2014
I saw a returning large black one at my parents house when on hols Chad Haney, same size but couldn’t get a good shot of it as it only came after dark and then decided to hang in the air in front of a lit up window. I did catch a few blurry blobs 😉
August 17, 2014
Miss you! Heal fast!
August 17, 2014
Thanks Brigitte W., I’m getting better.
August 17, 2014
Ooh, I love spiders, but now I have to try to ID it. Unfortunately, I can only get you to Neoscona spp. or Araneus spp.. Little beauty, though!
August 17, 2014
I figured you would like it, Carissa Braun
August 17, 2014
Orbweavers are one of my favorites (one of as I can’t actually decide on a favorite). I tried to keep one once, but it didn’t work out so well. As for now, well, I’m trying to figure out what to do with all the baby black widows that hatched. Widows do a little too well for keeping…
August 17, 2014
Yeah the orbweaver is awesome, we get this one species of them in PA that have big rear ends and they look like they have white arrow heads painted on them.
August 17, 2014
Jitters Longpaw does that spider come out only at night? That’s what is interesting about the spider in the photo above. It’s nowhere to be found during the day.
August 17, 2014
I’ve seen the one I’m talking about during the day when hicking
August 18, 2014
Hope the wrist gets better quick, Chad Haney. Once again you’re helping me learn – and about something that gives me the creeps! Rattlesnakes don’t freak me out in the least. But a spider? Quick! An injection of Ativan!
August 18, 2014
Thanks Michael Davis