Orb-weaver Spider

Description:

Araneae; Araneidae; Neoscona; Neoscona molemensis Tikader & Bal, 1981. This looks like a gravid female preparing to lay her eggs, but I am not sure. Since it is in my backyard, I should be able to keep an eye on it and record any developments.

Habitat:

Spotted this morning in our backyard. It was sitting on an unidentified plant (weed).

Notes:

I know that spiders do not have "host plants" because they are not herbaceous, but I have often regretted not including a photo of the "habitat plant", usually because I didn't think it relevant when taking the photos. Since I intend to revisit this spider to check on any developments, I thought it might be worth including a picture of the "weed".