Spider in Valencia Region

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SusanWill brighton, United Kingdom Jun 06, 2011

Hello,

are you able to help us identify this spider. We saw it near Valencia last summer. It was fairly large and scary and was living in a field.

Thank you!

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SusanWill brighton, United Kingdom Jun 06, 2011

we think it might be an Argiope lobata??

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kwanjin (Zone 7a) Jun 06, 2011

Definitely an Orb Weaver. Very pretty and not scary at all.

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aquilusdomini Jackson, MI Jun 07, 2011

indeed it is an orb weaver (argiope). they can grow quite large but are generally harmless (unless you're a fly stuck in its web). we get versions of them here in the states and often refer to them as "garden spiders". many types make elaborate webs, sometimes with a zigzag line down the center (like this one has). this one looks to be female and if she was lucky, she got to produce an egg sack before her death in the fall. these spiders are very beneficial and should not be feared. they eat a variety of unpleasant garden insects and are interesting to watch. and a little trivia for ya: orb weavers keep very neat and tidy webs; they often remove debris from their webs to keep it clean.

info on argiopes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argiope_%28spider%29

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