Argiope trifasciata (Banded Garden Spider)

Summary

The "Banded Garden Spider," Argiope trifasciata, ranges throughout the U.S. and southern Canada, as well as most warm regions of the planet (in Europe, known only from parts of Italy). Females are large, silvery spiders with legs banded in black and yellow. Look for this species in late summer and fall in fields, prairies, gardens, and meadows. The circular webs are built close to the ground amid tall grasses and weeds. There is often a zigzag band of silk (called a “stabilimentum”) running through the middle of the web. The female spider rests head down in the center (hub) of the web. Males are much smaller than the female and may occasionally be seen in her web. Egg sacs are laid in autumn. The sacs are shaped like a kettledrum, flat on one side and rounded on the other; covered in tough, brown, papery silk and suspended amid tangled vegetation. Spiderlings hatch from their eggs mid-winter but do not emerge from the egg sac until the following spring.