Always fun to see. Nice pix.

tj

What is it?

Yeah, I used to see them in the garden this time of year but haven't seen one in years.

I have not seen one yet this year but have had the pleasure for the past few. I think they are beautiful, Happy you spotted this one.

Molly D it is an Argiope aurantia - Yellow garden spider.

I was just thinking the same thing the other day - haven't seen one in awhile.

There are many insects I don't see as much anymore also. :( When was the last time you saw a big, "tobacco" spitting grasshopper? Sorry, OT.

@schoolhouse_gwagain Now that you mention it, I have not seen a single grasshopper this year, and very few the last years. In the earlier 2000s we had a cat who would hunt them and eat them with lots of crunching and smacking sounds. My present cat hardly knows them.

About the spiders, I have seen maybe one or two here. In Korea we saw similar ones in huge webs. I was told their bite was not pleasant.

What I have not seen this year are a tree frog, walking stick or praying mantis.

gdinieontarioz5 all the grasshoppers are here! So many this year including lots of Carolina locust. It has been so dry here and they are enjoying it too much. You can barely walk without nearly stepping on one or have them flying at you.

that bottom web is a work of art. pesticides & habitat loss are the main reasons for declining insect & spider populations. i mentioned in a recent thread how many fewer bird species there are now compared to the 50s & 60s. they say firefly populations are way down because there is so much artificial light these days that it confuses their mating signals ( which a main reason for their flashing. as a boy i remember snakes, toads, box turtles, & lizards in my yard in the city! i've only seen a luna moth in rural areas. nary a grasshopper for several years. at least i'm regularly serenaded by tree frogs.

In my garden here in Lexington VA

I have also noticed the decline in grasshoppers……..the few I’ve seen also seem smaller than I remember.

debra

I was so thrilled when I saw my first yellow garden spider two years ago. It was in an area with Conoclinium (Blue Mist flower) and Impatiens capensis (Jewelweed). I have not spotted him/her since, but hope he/she is still around and stayed in my yard since all my neighbors spray. I need to always carry my phone with me from now on when I am out working in the garden!

ETA: Peren.all, I saw a Cope's Gray Tree Frog last month-he was hanging out on our basement sliding door two nights in a row. I hope he hopped off somewhere safe.

i think she's making an egg sac

well she's gone M.I.A. for 4 days now.. i've seen more web building activity so hopefully she's moved into the undergrowth to lay eggs & didn't end up as a snack for a bird.