Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 -- A Little Bit of Nature

We have had a spider in our garden since spring. When we first noticed him several months ago, he was just a little thing, about 3/8" body. He's grown. I'm surprised he's still around. But he obviously is!
I told golf to get a ruler to measure him. Doncha just love the little stringy thing in his web?



I wonder how much longer he'll be hanging around. Anyone know what kind of spider this is? Leave me a Comment if you know anything about him.

6 comments:

Mike (N1095A) said...

Hi Golf. That looks like a St. Andrews Cross spider.

golfmobile said...

Mike,

Thanks! I was able to find that spider on the 'net, and apparently here in the States the spiders are called "Black and Yellow Argiopes" instead of St. Andrews Cross, which is what they are called in Australia. I like the latter name better . . . . But thanks for helping me identify it. Should we name him Zeus or Apollo?

Mike (N1095A) said...

Spiders are like snakes to me. "shiver" I usually don't wait around to see what they are before I squash 'em. I'm suprised he hung out while MGI stepped up close to him, and while you slid a ruler in back of him. They're supposed to be harmless to humans, although I suppose a bite would be painful. My biology teacher in high school kept one in the classroom. He had a regular habitat set up for him. Creepy crawlies just make me shudder. I killed a brown recliuse here a couple of weeks ago. his body was about the size of the tip of your pinky, but his legs were as big as my hand. Florida is known for some nasty spiders.

golfmobile said...

Hey, remember she's been hanging around there for about three months (which may be fairly long-lived for a spider in warm Georgia summers in one place), so she thinks she doesn't need to be afraid of anyone or anything. Had she started moving while we were taking those pictures, though, there might have been a hasty retreat. Spiders and snakes don't scare MGI -- however, cockroaches make him scream "like a little girl."
;-)

Kimbosan said...

Hi Guys,
Down Under we call them a Giant Orb spider quite nasty if you get bitten, we also have the Brown Recluse spider....yikes see the pics of this little bugger...


Kimbosan

Hmmm how do I up load some pictures?

golfmobile said...

Kimbosan,

I wonder if you're thinking of a different one. According to what I can find on the 'net, they aren't poisonous to humans. "Like almost all other spiders, Argiope are harmless to humans. . . . They might bite if grabbed, but other than for defense they have no interest in biting humans. Their venom is not regarded as a serious medical problem for humans, although they often contain a library of polyamine toxins with potential as therapeutic medicinal agents."

And: "Although people are concerned about being bitten by these large spiders, they are not considered dangerous. They may bite when harassed, but apparently the venom does not cause problems for humans."

But brown recluse spiders here in the States are poisonous too! And there's no antivenin, but the bites are rarely fatal, supposedly . . . .

I don't know if you can upload a picture in a Comment. I Googled it and never found out how. If anyone does figure it out, please let me (and Kimbosan) know!