Yesterday, not ten feet away, in the overflow of the Russian Sage from the Perennial Demonstration Garden to inside the fence of the vegetable growing area, another specimen caught my eye, which I have dubbed Shelob's Great Grandaughter.
I think she's just beautiful. From a reasonable distance, that is.
Pictures by Jenn Wetzel.
Here’s another blog post from 2010 on one of her cousins Argiope aurantia (Yellow Garden spider).
Lots more information with embedded links at the links referenced above.
There were 3 fairly large ones in the Pollinator Garden during the Dig, Divide & Multiply class on 9/29/12 right in the Iris, Daylily and Nepeta. I believe this may be why nobody wanted any of those plants at the class!
ReplyDeleteRay, do know if these spiders die each year? I believe some spiders can live up to 5 years. Not sure about these though.
ReplyDeleteSpiders.us (http://www.spiders.us/species/argiope-trifasciata/) says they're annual.
ReplyDelete"An annual species, males die not too long after mating and females die off when the first frost hits."
I recall the first one we spotted in October 2009, was still active well into November after a few light frosts.
Fascinating ~
ReplyDelete