Which Spider is this (Huge one)

[Guest TankerHC]

Started coming out at night. The body is close to 3 inches long. Builds a huge web in minutes, I watched. Im talking about a good 5 x 5. At daybreak, Spider and web gone. At night comes out and builds the web all over again.

 

[Wingshooter]

I've seen the same looking type in my backyard. Same deal... it builds a web at night between two trees in my backyard. I almost put my face in it one night walking the dog. It was gone the next day. Looking forward to the replies on this...

[Garufa]

I have several of those things around my house and they are massive.

[Oh Shoot]

Couldn't tell you exact scientific name, but they are the common orb weaver critters we get here late summer into fall.

 

 

 

Different from the whopper writing spiders which are also pretty common, and much bigger, but they don't take down their webs every day, and don't make the huge expanse of web the large orb weaver above does.

 

 

- OS

Edited August 26, 2013 by Oh Shoot

[monkeylizard]

Some of the orb weavers eat their webs at the end of the hunt and recycle the silk proteins to make the next hunt's web. That's why the web goes away. Some do that daily, some it's every other day or so. I don't know if they all do that or not, but I know some do.

Edited August 26, 2013 by monkeylizard

[BryanP]

Yep, orb weaver.  If it's not in an obnoxious location leave her alone. They'll keep your mosquito population down.

[RED333]

Get ya a black (UV) light shine it on the web and see what shows up.

[npgunner]

Get ya a black (UV) light shine it on the web and see what shows up.

Haha. Really? Is it a message like in Charlotte's web?

It sounds like an orb weaver of some sort. I've got 2 that come out on my deck and 1 by the mailbox. Wish the guy at the street would come closer. They're great at keeping bugs down. Like someone else mentioned, they eat the web and recycle it for the next night. Aren't you glad we don't have to "recycle" anything that comes out of us?!? Eww.

[Guest Razz]

Love having an orb weaver around the house. We had one outside our home in FL that spun webs that spanned our front yard. Every so often it would build a web that crossed the path to the front door and, coming home from a night shift, I wouldn't realize the web was there until I was face to face with the spider. Pretty sure she was trying to capture me.

[Guest tommy62]

It would be called a dead spider at my house.

[RED333]

Haha. Really? Is it a message like in Charlotte's web?

It sounds like an orb weaver of some sort. I've got 2 that come out on my deck and 1 by the mailbox. Wish the guy at the street would come closer. They're great at keeping bugs down. Like someone else mentioned, they eat the web and recycle it for the next night. Aren't you glad we don't have to "recycle" anything that comes out of us?!? Eww.

Well not words, some bugs see in UV, so it is a way to get the bugs closer to the web.

[mav]

We have a bunch of them around our house.  Every now and then I like to mess with them by gently pulling on the web to mimic a trapped insect.  They move pretty fast towards the center of the web.

[RED333]

I have been known to catch a bug and put in the web to watch the spider eat.

Did it to a wasp once, something to see, spider won, after the wasp was worn out.

[Oh Shoot]

I have been known to catch a bug and put in the web to watch the spider eat.

Did it to a wasp once, something to see, spider won, after the wasp was worn out.

 

Did that many times as kid with both the big garden writing spiders and the orb weavers.

 

The orb weavers really dig moths. Figured since they mostly deploy at night, figger maybe they have evolved to specialize in them.

 

- OS

Edited August 26, 2013 by Oh Shoot

[Romad7]

We have about 4 garden/writing spiders, 5-6 funnel spiders and 1 orb looking spider that hangs out with one of the garden spiders. They are positioned in tactical overwatch positions around my perimeter. Anything that eats Mosquitos is welcome here as long as they stay outside. Had to relocate a huge funnel spider from my basement to the yard.

I love seeing the garden spiders when they get huge. Pretty cool looking. Edited August 27, 2013 by Romad7

[Steelharp]

It would be called a dead spider at my house.

My credo:

More than 4 legs, kill it.

4 legs, it stays outside.

2 legs, ok.

1 leg, get it a wheelchair.

[Oh Shoot]

My credo:

More than 4 legs, kill it.

4 legs, it stays outside.

2 legs, ok.

1 leg, get it a wheelchair.

 

Sounds like snakes are safe then, good for them. ;)

 

- OS

[Steelharp]

Sounds like snakes are safe then, good for them. ;)

 

- OS

Nope. Snakes are on auto-death.

[Guest Riciticky]

Don't say your name around a writing spider or it will write your name and you will die. That is what my grandmother told me when I was a kid. I never did and I am still alive. But my granny, no. I don't know if she did or didn't.