I had an orb weaver earlier this fall at this same light outside. This one appeared just a few days ago! I can only assume it;'s another orb weaver but is this an egg sac on it's back!?!
Can someone take a look at my pics and at least make an educated guess? thanks!
It is an orb weaver in the genus Araneus; looks like Araneus diadematus, common in both Europe and North America - http://frederikm.deviantart.com/art/Araneus-diadematus-97623005
Just as Flapdoodle said, this is an Araneus diadematus, also called a European Garden Spider or Cross Spider. The one in your photo is a female.
That's not an egg sac on her back, what you're seeing is actually the spider's nice fat abdomen. When a spider has such a round, full abdomen, it's often because she gravid; she's full of developing eggs and will soon lay a fluffy, yellow egg sac, attaching it along a crevice or corner near her web. After laying the eggs, her abdomen will be much smaller, sometimes quite shriveled. She will probably die not long after that, (just like Charlotte in the Charlotte's Web story).
I'm curious, is she is still around now, a month after you originally posted the picture?
This message was edited Jan 23, 2016 2:36 AM
