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Argiope aurantia
Female spiders are much larger than males, growing almost from 3/4" to 1 1/8". Males grow between 1/4" to 3/8". Both spiders have a cephalothorax (small front body section) covered with short, silvery hairs. The shiny, egg-shaped abdomen has yellow or orange coloring on a black background. The black-and-yellow argiope’s legs are black, with red or yellow bands.
Wildlife habitat yard.
Like other orbweavers, each leg has 3 claws per foot, one more than most spiders. Orbweavers use this third claw to help handle the threads while spinning. Predicated upon climate, these spiders may live a little over a year from their hatching in the fall until the first hard frost the following year. In warmer temperatures, the female may live for several years but males usually die after mating in their first year.
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