Orb Weavers

— Just in time for Halloween, I bring you a few spiders I photographed around my yard, Huntsville State Park, and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. I confess I am never very comfortable when I am making these macros. It is the classic too-close-to-comfort uneasiness one feels. However, the results are often quite revealing.

The first spider you see above is the Mabel’s orchard orb weaver. I spotted that spider on one of my first hikes at Huntsville State Park. According to Wikipedia, Mabel’s orchard orb weaver (or Leucauge argyrobapta) is “a species of long-jawed orb weaver in the spider family Tetragnathidae.” With those neon green legs, they are hard to miss. Mabel’s orchard orb weavers do have some mild venom, but they are not poisonous to humans.

The following orb weaver is a Spotted orb weaver. I captured the image right here in our backyard a couple of years ago. The one thing that attracts me to photographing spiders is the refraction I can sometimes capture coming out of the web. In the Mabel’s orchard orb weaver above, that refraction was more pronounced than in the example below. You can see only some refraction in the upper right corner. According to Wikipedia, the Spotted orb weaver is an orb-weaver spider in the family Araneidae. Its scientific name is Neoscona crucifera.

Finally, I share a few photos of the common Yellow garden spider. The first time I saw one of these was at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. A visitor actually pointed it out to me. Ever since I first spotted it there, I always look for it at the same location when I visit the center. It never fails and is always there. This spider is also known by several other names, including black and yellow garden spider, golden garden spider, zigzag spider, and others. Their venom is harmless to non-allergic humans, but people with compromised immune systems should exert caution around them.

If you are curious about other types of spiders, I encourage you to visit Denzil Nature. His Nature Challenge #29: Spiders and their webs is your source for more.