I'm in southern California and found this spider on my patio tonight around 10:30 PM. It has an orb-shaped web, but when I looked up orb weaver spiders it didn't seem to completely match. This spider seems "stockier" and covered with hair, it also has a little red stripe on its abdomen (you can just barely see it in the picture). Sorry for the bad quality pic, I only had a flashlight and my cell phone.
This message was edited Aug 22, 2010 11:23 PM
This could be a tropical orb weaver in the genus Eriophora. Google images for Eriophora edax and Eriophora ravilla to see if you can come close to a match. These spiders can vary considerably in individual appearance.
Thanks, after looking up Eriophora images I think you are correct.
