Yellow Garden Spider

Yellow Garden Spider sitting in the middle of its web.
Yellow Garden Spider, Hagerman NWR, Sherman, TX, September 2, 2023
Canon EOS R5 with Canon 100-500 mm L-series lens with 1.4x Teleconverter; 700 mm; ISO-2000; f/10; 1/800 sec. -1 exposure bias.

This page is for the Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia). These were very common where I grew up. We even had one on the front of our house when I was a kid, and we would feed it grasshoppers. It was wonderful growing up not being scared of spiders. My wife and I almost bought a house a move or two ago that had a variant of this species on the front porch, and seeing the spider was one of the reasons. Unfortunately, there was too much wrong with the house on the inside. Hopefully whoever finally bought the house took good care of their special resident.

Yellow Garden Spider working on her web in the early morning.
Yellow Garden Spider, Fort Worth Nature Preserve, Fort Worth, TX, August 14 2022
Canon EOS R5 with Canon 100-500 mm L-series lens with 1.4x Teleconverter; 700 mm; ISO-1000; f/11; 1/800 sec.