Barron of Blog Wife, Libby, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Yellow Striped Garden Spider

Found this Yellow Garden Spider on one of the bushes we recently transplanted to the back of the house:

As best I can tell this spider is in the genus of Argiope, species of Aurantia. Regardless of it's menacing appearance it's venom is not deadly: "the responses to the necrotic envenomations from these species are generally mild, although victims may exhibit localized distress." *

Like other orb-weavers (family Araneidae), this species has three claws per foot (one more than most spiders). Orb-weavers use this third claw to help handle the threads while spinning. When disturbed, the spider might first vibrate the web to try to make its body look bigger, but if that fails to deter a predator she will drop to the ground and hide. *