The other afternoon I went outside to do some chores, and didn’t get very far because I stumbled on this gorgeous girl in her web hanging between two blackjack plants. As I stated earlier this week, the blackjack is attracting all sorts of pollinators and insects right now, so she had her web is a great place. In case you don’t recognize her, she’s a yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia), also often called a black and yellow garden spider, a zipper spider, a black and yellow argiope, or a zigzag spider. As we enter the fall season these ladies are usually getting pretty large and they are usually very healthy looking. They have been eating all summer to reach this prime condition for mating and egg laying.

I hadn’t taken my camera outside with me, so I had to come back and get it because this girl was one of the prettiest specimens I’ve seen. Her colors were great and she literally shined in the sun. She was really in perfect shape. All ready to set about producing next year’s generation of garden spiders.