I've always found the Black-and-yellow argiope (garden spider) fascinating. The webs they build are beautiful. After they've finished building their web, the argiope weaves a zig-zag 'stitch' in the center of the web. Some people think it's to let birds know the web is there. I haven't the foggiest idea why they do it, but it makes the web easy for me to see when I'm working in the yard.
Although the female argiope can range in size of 3/4 to 1 1/8 inches, the ones we've found are easily 2-2 1/2 inches. The argiope is a beneficial spider because they catch and eat wasps, aphids, mosquitoes, flies and bees.
And I found this lovely lady this afternoon while I was watering.
What I find interesting about these two lovely ladies is that their webs are on either side of my rosemary bush that is probably 4 feet in diameter. I didn't think that they would build their webs so close together.
Maybe they'll keep our mosquito and fly population down, so that we can enjoy our patio as the weather cools off.
P.S. We've named them Jezebel and Charlotte.
3 comments:
As long as a spider does not get into the house, I pretty much leave them alone. Those are great pics.
I'm with you. They're beautiful to watch outside, but not in the house.
I love garden spiders. As a kid, I would always catch grasshoppers and throw them in the web and watch them work.
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