We named this spider Fred but its probably a female spider. For the amount of looking I have come to the conclusion that its an orb weaver spider but dont know the what kind. It finally came out early and I caught this picture. To my surprise, there is a small visitor below the grasshopper...baby or another spider leaching?
'Fred' is indeed a fine, fat, female orb weaver (family Araneidae); she appears to be a western spotted orbweaver, Neoscona oaxacensis - see http://tinyurl.com/275a7ns for images. The small spider is in the family Theridiidae (cobweb/comb-footed spiders); likely an Argyrodes species. These spiders are known as kleptoparasites, in that they enter the webs of larger spiders to feed on items caught there. See http://tinyurl.com/28n6qgy for more detailed information.
thank you..you are correct. I will keep it around if it keeps catching bugs from entering my house :)
