eyescene
08-03-2007, 09:52 AM
I took these picture late yesterday evening about 7 feet up in the tree. I didn't know they were breeding till I loaded them on the PC. Way cool!
Yellow Garden Spider
The Black and Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia syn. Miranda aurantia, Epeira riparia), also known as the American Garden Spider or Writer Spider is a species of Orb-web spiders common to the lower 48 of the United States, southern Canada, Mexico, and Central America. They have distinctive yellow and black markings on their abdomens and a mostly white cephalothorax.
The female of the species grows much larger than the male. Females have large rounded bodies that may grow to 40 mm (1 1/2 inches), excluding the legs. If the length of the legs is added, the female can reach 75 mm (3") in diameter. Males are thin-bodied and only 20 mm (¾") long.
This species is striking in appearance with distinct yellow and black markings, including banding on the legs, that make identification easy. Despite the vivid color, the garden spider is well camouflaged, blending in easily with partially sunlit areas.
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u205/eyescene/Critters/MsSpider.jpg
Yellow garden spiders have three claws on each foot, unlike spiders that do not weave orb webs which have only two claws. The third claw helps them manage the strands of silk while they spin the complicated web.
Garden Spiders often build webs in areas adjacent to open sunny fields where they stay concealed and protected from the wind. The spider can also be found along the eves of houses and outbuildings or in any tall vegetation where they can securely stretch a web. The circular part of the female web may reach two feet in diameter. Webs are built at elevations from two to eight feet off the ground.
Reproduction
Yellow garden spiders breed once a year. The males roam in search of a female, building a small web near or actually in the female's web, then court the females by plucking strands on her web. Often, when the male approaches the female, he has a safety drop line ready, in case she attacks him. After mating, the male dies, and is sometimes then eaten by the female.
Breeding
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u205/eyescene/Critters/breeding2.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u205/eyescene/Critters/MsSpiderBreeding.jpg
She lays her eggs at night on a sheet of silken material, then covers them with another layer of silk, then a protective brownish silk. She then uses her legs to form the sheet into a ball with an upturned neck. Egg sacs range from 5/8" to 1" in diameter. She often suspends the egg sac right on her web, near the center where she spends most of her time. Each spider produces from one to four sacs with perhaps over a thousand eggs inside each. She guards the eggs against predation as long as she is able. However, as the weather cools, she becomes more frail, and dies around the time of the first hard frost.
LINK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argiope_aurantia)
Yellow Garden Spider
The Black and Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia syn. Miranda aurantia, Epeira riparia), also known as the American Garden Spider or Writer Spider is a species of Orb-web spiders common to the lower 48 of the United States, southern Canada, Mexico, and Central America. They have distinctive yellow and black markings on their abdomens and a mostly white cephalothorax.
The female of the species grows much larger than the male. Females have large rounded bodies that may grow to 40 mm (1 1/2 inches), excluding the legs. If the length of the legs is added, the female can reach 75 mm (3") in diameter. Males are thin-bodied and only 20 mm (¾") long.
This species is striking in appearance with distinct yellow and black markings, including banding on the legs, that make identification easy. Despite the vivid color, the garden spider is well camouflaged, blending in easily with partially sunlit areas.
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u205/eyescene/Critters/MsSpider.jpg
Yellow garden spiders have three claws on each foot, unlike spiders that do not weave orb webs which have only two claws. The third claw helps them manage the strands of silk while they spin the complicated web.
Garden Spiders often build webs in areas adjacent to open sunny fields where they stay concealed and protected from the wind. The spider can also be found along the eves of houses and outbuildings or in any tall vegetation where they can securely stretch a web. The circular part of the female web may reach two feet in diameter. Webs are built at elevations from two to eight feet off the ground.
Reproduction
Yellow garden spiders breed once a year. The males roam in search of a female, building a small web near or actually in the female's web, then court the females by plucking strands on her web. Often, when the male approaches the female, he has a safety drop line ready, in case she attacks him. After mating, the male dies, and is sometimes then eaten by the female.
Breeding
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u205/eyescene/Critters/breeding2.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u205/eyescene/Critters/MsSpiderBreeding.jpg
She lays her eggs at night on a sheet of silken material, then covers them with another layer of silk, then a protective brownish silk. She then uses her legs to form the sheet into a ball with an upturned neck. Egg sacs range from 5/8" to 1" in diameter. She often suspends the egg sac right on her web, near the center where she spends most of her time. Each spider produces from one to four sacs with perhaps over a thousand eggs inside each. She guards the eggs against predation as long as she is able. However, as the weather cools, she becomes more frail, and dies around the time of the first hard frost.
LINK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argiope_aurantia)