Yellow Garden Spider

Argiope aurantia is a large araneid orb weaver; females reach 19–28 mm body length with a striking black abdomen boldly patterned in bright yellow, and silvery hairs on the carapace, while males are only 5–9 mm and inconspicuous. Mature females build a papery brown egg sac holding 300–1,400 eggs in late summer and die at first frost; spiderlings overwinter inside the sac and balloon away in spring. One generation occurs per year, with adults most conspicuous from midsummer to October.

The female builds a large vertical orb web with a dense zigzag silk band, the stabilimentum, running through the hub, and hangs head-down at the centre with legs paired. The web is rebuilt almost nightly, the old silk eaten and recycled. Prey — grasshoppers, wasps, flies and moths — is bitten, wrapped and cached. The spider bounces the web vigorously when threatened and retreats rather than confronting; bites are rare and comparable to a bee sting with brief local pain and no systemic effect. It is a valuable garden predator.