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Argiope aurantia
This is one of the most common spiders you are liable to encounter. They are fairly large for a North American spider, the female’s body measuring about an inch (24 mm). Most of those you see are females as, is typical I spiders, the male is much smaller and not nearly so colorful. The female has yellow and black spots on a rich brown body. The legs are light colored near the body with the rest of the leg being black with one small pale band. The entire head is white or silver, from which it gets its scientific name Argiope, which translates to “silver-face.”
This spider was found in tall grass along the edge of a small pond in SE Texas (90 masl).
As a kid I always enjoyed finding these colorful spiders in the garden or fields in NW Iowa. They are easily confused with the Banded Garden Spider (Argiope trifasciata).
Spotted on Jul 31, 2010
Submitted on Nov 21, 2021
2 Comments
Hi Dixie. Yes they are nice sized, and such bright colors. I always enjoy finding them. Note I said, "Finding them," not "Running into them." 🙂
Those things are SO big! Nice photo.