Black and Yellow Argiope Spider

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Black and Yellow Argiope
I apologize to those of you who get freaked out by spiders, but I think they're pretty wonderful. I've been wanting to photograph this species for a while. I've seen them before, but I've never been able to photograph them until this morning at Central Winds Park. I hope this one sticks around so I can return with my macro lens and diffuser.  With my 400mm lens I had to stay over 10 ft away and photograph her in harsh lighting. These spiders are pretty large (well, females like this one are), and they're quite stunning when you find one. They go by many common names, including Black and yellow Orbweaver and Golden Orbweaver, but the scientific name for the species is Argiope aurantia. Sometimes spiders of this genus are called writing spiders because of the zig zag pattern in the center of the web.  Despite their large size, they are pretty harmless.

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Black and Yellow Argiope
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Black and Yellow Argiope

Comments

  1. You have featured my favorite spider.... I learned the name as the "golden garden spider".. don't know why... but loved coming across the zigzag web among my garden plants. Thanks for sharing the great photos!

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  2. Thank you! Yes, I believe I've run across that common name as well. It's amazing how many common names some spiders have.

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