Yesterday I happened to pass this very large spider in the yard. I assume it is some kind of orb spider. It's larger than the orb spiders I have seen before (1.5 cm? longer?), and the pattern on the back is different. Despite the first picture, it generally hangs upside down. Anyone know what it is? And are those eggs at the back of the bottom of the abdomen?

Many thanks. And, of course, C&C welcome. I did these in a rush--I preparing for an engagement party we were hosting, so I was distracted. On a positive note, many of the guests trooped out to examine this one by flashlight.

Lovely captures- Think it's one of the Argiopes. Think you are mistaking it's spinnarets for eggs.

Brian v.

Brian,

Thanks on both counts. I did some searching on the web after seeing your post, and there are indeed some Argiopes species that are common in this area, one of which looks very much like this, except that the lighter color apparently is usually somewhat more yellowish than in this particular specimen.

She is still where she was, after 3 days.

Dan

That's one of the makes me want to run away squealing o' sauruses.

Great pics of the creepy lil bugger tho.

From what little I have read, they are pretty much harmless to people. I disturbed it a couple of times, and it just moved away. But they will eat things larger than themselves. One posting claim that one was found eating a small bat! Of course, with web postings, caveat emptor.

Nice shots!