I hate spiders. Today I found one out in the pasture that is probably spinning webs to catch my horses. The web was bigger than I am at 5' and the spider was about the length of my hand. I'm guessing it's some kind of orb? I had to turn it sideways to crop.
This one was hanging out in the skimmer of the pool. We get a lot of grass spiders in the pool but this one is probably 5x's the size of the grass spiders I see. Colors may be off as I had to lighten the picture some.
Maybe the second one is some kind of wolf spider?
This message was edited Aug 29, 2007 8:59 AM
as in the kind that jump? I think I just felt another 100 hairs go grey!
I think the first one is an argiope ... probably this one
http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/go/69/
Thanks Linda. That's it! I recognize the zig-zag on the web. Glad to know it's not poisonous. Web search on them said they build 2' webs but this web was much closer to 5'. I did not walk up to it but got within about 5 or 6 feet of it and it was almost to the ground and slightly over my head. Wondering if there was another web maybe behind it and I was seeing two webs.
I love writting spiders (first one)
"writting" -- okay, is that a noun or a verb?
Ah thanks my dear friend - name calling coming in you email!!!!
crip. SOL
Crip'? BIG SNORT
...but I thought that writting was some sort of spider word. For realz! lol Did you just expose yourself as a bad spell-checker, er what?
OK you two! I'm marking this one solved before you drag it any further down than the ugly spider pictures already did!
Oh. I'm pretty sure that we can take it further. Right, Toshiba?
Ahem...both good guy spiders. The Black & Yellow Argiope scares people because of its size when it is full grown, but she is a beauty, and that web catches a lot of insects. The wolf spider hunts its prey on foot (at night) rather than spinning a web, and that is how it got its name. These are the spiders that carry their egg sac with them, and then, when the babies hatch, carry them on their back until they are big enough to fend for themselves. Unusual in the world of spiders....
Ceejaytown, thanks for that information. I think I ~heart~ the wolf spider.
You better be nice to them, DD. ... or I'll close the pool again.
I'm sorry to say wolfie didn't make it...pool filter kicked on about 2 mins after I took those pictures (he was standing on the skimmer door) and there's not a spider out there that I'd actually reach my hand into the skimmer to save. We've saved frogs out of the skimmer but as I'll not kill a good spider who's living where he's supposed to be, just can't bring myself to touching one to save it either.
