Anyone know their spiders?

I had two of these guys show up tonight. Good size maybe 1 1/2 inches long and big webs.

Another picture, anyone know what this is?

Just wondering on the deadly scale where it falls?

It will kill

Bugs
squirrels and birds
Dogs
Me
large farm animals

Simple way to gauge a spider I think.

This web is at least 20 ft across the top. Built in a few hours at most.

Have two of them tonight which makes me think there are more around the back yard. Anyone have an ID for them? Same kind of spider.

This an orb-weaving spider (family Araneidae), a very large family whose members pose no danger to anything other than the insects that blunder into its web.

Is the name Red Orb Weaver? I see a lot of these red-brown spiders at the same time as the Writing Spiders.

yeah... they freak me out... one time i walde into a web of aone when i was little and helping my dad in the yard. i didnt realize the spider was on it and it crawled on me and i was never mor terrified in my life when i saw it.... now spiders are one of my biggest fears. we have a writing spider now. i think these all come out for the buffet of love bugs that occurs around this time of year. the venus fly traps that are in the ground are loving them too. unfortunately i dont feel the same about the fornicating flies.

Thanks for the info and that looks like the right spider. These spiders make big webs but the web were gone this morning. Do they take them down??

Not to worry Core. There are really only a few spiders you have to be wary of around here. Only 3 of these that have been reliably reported; Latrodectus mactas (Southern Black Widow, and most common), L. geometricus (brown widow, recently imported from Florida, but seems to be adapting), and Loxoceles reclusa (aka "Brown Recluse"). All of these dangerous varieties tend to be reclusive---avoid high-traffic areas and normally hide out away from any kind of traffic (including human), so you're not apt to meet them. But if you venture into a little-used shed, or rummage in an old woodpile, you might meet them. None of these more dangerous spiders spin webs such that you're apt to walk into them...they're all ground spiders. You could stick your hand or foot into their web, but you're not apt to walk into one. As disgusting and frightening as walking into a spider web is, if you walk into one, the really high probability is you WON'T be bitten by a poisonous spider. Their first response to a web invasion by a large animal is to scramble to safety, and quickly. You can test this observation yourself...just find a web of a banana spider, pick up a long stick and hit the outer rim of the web with the stick. Watch how quickly that momma spider runs AWAY from the disturbance of her web. They don't want to mess with large animals.
Having said all that, I still HATE to walk into a spider web!

This message was edited Sep 13, 2008 11:08 PM

Core, I just read this in my copy Audubon Guide for Insects and Spiders: "Many orb weavers replace the entire web daily, spinning a new web in the early evening in about an hour".

That is a good spider like the yellow and black ones. I hope my ladies that alway show up at the house in Raleigh are there this year and I get up ther next week end and can see them. They always show up in Sept.

Lavina

I had two of those same type show up in my yard this year, weird. Plus a slew of those huge garden spiders, the real colorful ones. I almost ran face first into one of them as a kid in a muscadine patch; my grandfather stopped me at the last minute *shivers* I also have an immense fear of spiders, they just give me the heebie-jeebies.

I once got caught up in a banana spiders web and the spider ended up on me. I'm not prone to panic but ........

Just learned something. What some of you are calling the Banana Spider is the same thing as the Garden Spider I was referring to. Yeah, I'm not a big fan of them, even years later. I had, note had, two in the yard.

They might not be hurting anything (as my DW says), but I'd rather not have an "encounter" by accident when working around my plants.

This is what I found http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephila_clavipes, that's what I'm calling a banana spider. Big as your hand and they seem to really like making webs strung between one palmetto tree to another palmetto. At least that's where I seem to see them the most.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=banana%20spider&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Here's the one I'm referring too.

This message was edited Sep 14, 2008 9:50 PM

Ah, so they are different actually. And the Banana spider from Brazil is very poisonous apparently. Here's the one from NA though.

The nephila clavipes banana spider of North America possesses venom similar in nature to the venom of the black widow, but far less potent, making it quite harmless to humans. A bite from a North American banana spider will not result in much more than a welt that will pass within 24 hours.

N. clavipes banana spiders have elongated bodies that resemble a banana in shape and coloring, beautifully bright yellow and black. The males are about half the size of females, and dark colored. Females grow quite large with a body length of about 1.1 inches (33 cm). North American banana spiders prefer sunny areas and tend to like tall plants or trees. They will often spin a web across a walkway or trail, spanning several feet. The web of the North American banana spider is orb-shaped, golden, and is stronger than most spiders' webs. In fact its silk is stronger than comparable threads of Kevlar or steel.

The North American banana spider is not aggressive, but if you notice banana spiders building webs close to your home and would like them to move, simply tear down the webs. The spiders will relocate further away where they can continue to do their part in keeping down the insect population.

Other names for the N. clavipes or North American banana spider include the writing spider and golden orb weaver. The argiope or yellow and black garden spider is similar in size and sometimes confused with the banana spider. It too is known as 'the writing spider' due to zig-zag patterns in its web.

I've posted this before but perhaps it is time to show it again. Note that the little one is the guy and the big one is the gal. This couple took up residence outside our house a few years ago. I haven't seen any of them this summer for some reason.

Oh ya that's the one. Hmmm my link seems to not work now. LOL. There was a picture and details.

i dont see how that spider looks like a banana. i think it looks more like a yellow untrimmed fingernail.

And n. clavepipes is Aka "Golden Silk Spider".
We have dozens of various gigantic Orb Weavers this year.
ANd just this week or so , the little Spiny Orb W's are appearing.

Unless they're right across a walkway where I can't get by, in which case I'll "relocate" the web, I leave them alone. I want them to catch as many mosquitos as possible!!! :)

Deb
(I watched this one spinning for quite a while.)