Argiopes aurantia

Nice photo Lori

Thanks Janette! I've had an Argiopes in my gardens for many seasons, but last year there wasn't one... That's why I was excited to find her web.
She seems to be minus one leg.

What happend to her leg Lori did some other spider bite it off She still looks good with a leg missing

LOL..yes she's still a beauty! from one of my pics I was able to see that the socket on her thorax where the leg should be is empty..which sounds to me like the leg was plucked rather than cut...who knows what did the damage...just glad she survived. I just popped out to check and I'm happy to report that she is having dinner...filet of fly!!!

Just read on Bug Guide that she can regenerate the lost leg, However, it's starting to cool off and the large females usually die before the frosts set in...leaving the egg sack to hatch, and her spiderlings to hibernate over winter..Unlike the Black Widow .the males do not get eaten by her...she may mate with more than one male and they all live to tell about it!! Males have shorter life spans than females and a female in a tropical climate has lived for years. (according to Buguide) I'm checking to find if she has an egg sack nearby. Aurantias are venomous but the venom kills flies, NOT humans...lol. They avoid people if possible and have only been known to bite if they were ureasonably harrassed.

Great shot Lori. My favorite spider too, and I haven't seen one in my garden yet this year ! I used to see several of them years ago.

could she be another victim of climate change? I sure hope not..I remeber the first time I saw one! I was surprised at her size and almost took out her web with my face!!! She had spun it between a clump of mint and the tall grass beside the fence! I was heading for the composter with my hands full ...quite a meeting! by coincidence I had heard a report on a radio programme about the argiopes...or I might have run screaming for the raid!

gross..but nice..lol..

Beautiful markings. Haven't seen this one before.

I hope you will soon, Gillian. They like tall plants so it's unlikely that they will show up in the garage or anywhere else...so keep watch among your tall plants...I think they're done for this year though...maybe next year!

I'll be watching!

Hmmmm - not sure how I feel about this creature Lori.....3" across at least you say? Think I'd near have a heart attack if I found one of these in my garden!

Oh no! you'd be enthralled by her beauty and her architectural prowess....consider that I almost took out a web with my face!! hahaha ...that was an interesting introduction!... but I found her very interesting to watch...and so did Mandy! That really surprised me...I caught her standing there with her head to one side sizing up the spider and the web...I quickly gave her a no-no lecture and she sat right down where she was and continued to watch.... then got bored and moved on.. but she never seemed to be interested again!