I never thought I'd use those two words in the same sentence but this spider really is spectacular. We have a lot of orb weavers in our garden but none this big or these colors. Is this an orb weaver? If not, do I need to be worried? I dislike bugs but they fascinate me and I love taking their pictures....
It's a harmless crab spider (family Thomisidae); maybe in the genus Mecaphesa - see http://www.cirrusimage.com/spider_northern_crab.htm for an example. These spiders are extremely variable in color pattern.
