CLOSED: Noctournal Spider. possible orbweaver?

Houston, TX

The picture stinks I know this is the best my phone can do on a target moving in the wind at night. I can only ever find this spider at night webbed up between ours and a neighbors house. By day the majority of the web and the spider are gone leaving just the major anchors in place. It's kind of furry looking, large white abdomen with the 4 prominent dots on the top (there's more but 4 are more defined than the rest) and is about the size of an old 50 cent piece maybe a bit bigger (legs incl there). any ideas on a more specific identification?

Thumbnail by ClericCade
Sinks Grove, WV

This is an orb weaving spider (family Araneidae). The image is not clear enough to be certain, but this could be Eriophora ravilla, a species known as the tropical orbweaver - see http://tinyurl.com/26f3zjr; they are strictly nocturnal.

Houston, TX

can the colors vary that widely? the white in my picture isnt whitewash it really is that color, im using the edge of a flashlight to light it while the camera shoots sans flash, because at that distance i would get whitewash.

I'll try for another pic tonight

This message was edited Aug 9, 2010 2:01 PM

Sinks Grove, WV

Most orb weavers, including Eriophora ravilla, can show considerable individual variation in color pattern; this can make identification from images problematical.

Houston, TX

here's 1/2 of the new pics

Thumbnail by ClericCade
Houston, TX

and 2/2

not as good as the belly shot though probably the lamp in the background tricking the cam into thinking it has the light it needed for a faster shutter

guess i should have also mentioned that i'm in Houston, towards the coast

This message was edited Aug 10, 2010 12:07 AM

Thumbnail by ClericCade
Sinks Grove, WV

Based on these last two images, I am reasonably confident in calling this spider a tropical orb weaver, Eriophora ravilla.

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