A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
Leucauge venusta
A common , brilliantly colored Long-Jawed Orbweaver, the Orchard Spider builds a horizontal web.
The orchard spider is commonly found in wooded areas from southern Canada to Panama on the eastern half of the US, building webs in shrubs and low trees. This particular one lives on my deck. His web covers an old neglected deckchair and equally neglected poinsetta that sits on it's seat. (Before I came out and started moving things around it was also spanning across the deck to the railing and nearby pinetree.) The deck gets a bit of direct sun in the morning but is shaded for most of the day.
None of these photos show it but the pill-shaped abdomen can move about quite a bit. When I first glimpsed this guy the angle was so different from the rest of the body that I thought he was carrying something on his back.
Spotted on Jun 27, 2012
Submitted on Jul 6, 2012
No Comments