Insect and Spider Identification: CLOSED: Joro Spider (?) Confirmation , 2 by MaypopLaurel

MaypopLaurel wrote:
This is my first siting of this beautiful orb weaver. So exciting! She is in my kitchen garden located in the N. GA. mountains/Appalachian foothills). We normally have an abundance of Argiope but this weaver is different. Georgia entomologists are tracking the relatively new to the U.S. species to determine environmental impact. I would like confirmation before I notify the state. They want to come out and look. Meanwhile, she\'s got a lot of bean sucking beetles and marmorated stink bugs in that web. Good girl!