It may seem strange to say that a big yellow spider is my friend in the garden. But truly that is the case. This yellow garden spider, officially known as Argiope aurantia, is a female. She is very large. Her colorful body can be almost as large as a quarter. Her mate is very much smaller with a dull brown color. As the female, the burden of house keeping and feeding falls to her. She spins beautiful large webs across taller plants. Her spouse, should she have one, sits off to the side of the web. These spiders are widespread, not aggressive, and actually are very beneficial by consuming insect pests in the garden.

My friend’s webs are very characteristic in that they are large and intricate. They can be as large as two feet across and are circular in shape. They have the classic spider web spiral rings and radial lines that most people envision in a spider web. These webs characteristically usually have a single short distinctive thicker white zigzag of web silk coming from the center. This thicker part is called the stabilimentum. No one knows its definitive purpose. Speculation includes it serves as a signal to birds to avoid the web, it is an attractant to a male, or it attracts more insects to the web. Consensus is however, that it does not stabilize the web but really serves as a distinctive marker of these spiders.

Black and yellow garden spiders have a wide range. They are native to North America and are found in every state but Alaska. Their range also extends to northern Central America and southern Canada. Garden spiders prefer to live near sunny areas that are out of the wind so that they can build their webs. They typically build their webs on or across tall plants. This is why they are found so often in gardens. These spiders are active during the day, and are usually seen on or near their webs.

My spider friend always was on guard on her web. I also had her relative in another part of my gardens that behaved the same way. Often I found a victim insect wrapped up like a mummy in silk stuck in the web. Once it had been eaten or its body sucked of fluids, it would be cut out of the web, and repairs or a new web would take place. Once in a while, my friend would move her large web to another part of the garden, always in some taller plants oriented to catch flying victims.

Garden spiders reproduce one to two times a year. The male garden spider dies immediately after mating and is sometimes eaten by the female. After mating, the female lays several thousand eggs in a ball-like case she covers in brown silk. The eggs hatch in the spring. The baby garden spiders either stay in the area or get carried by the wind to new places (sadly the vast majority do not survive to adulthood). One October, I was lucky enough to observe one of my female yellow garden spiders lay her eggs under a section of wood siding. She spent hours carefully wrapping the case that was larger than a big grape. Sadly the cooler October weather meant she would perish after a frost, and never see her babies hatch. See actual photo.

Many people fear yellow garden spiders because they are large and brightly colored. They leave you alone as long as you do not bother or provoke them. A yellow garden spider bite is similar to a bee sting. In general, these arachnids are not harmful. Garden spider venom is not poisonous. This is true for both humans and animals, so one not need worry.

In our climate, garden spiders live for one year. Some females can survive several years if they live in areas that do not have a hard frost. Garden spiders typically spend their entire lives in one garden area. They play an important role in the ecosystem by helping to reduce insect populations, so no need to worry if one of these spiders makes its home in your garden. Consider yourself lucky to have such a beneficial lovely spider!

Despite some articles explaining how to get rid of garden spiders, please do not. They are a decorative, harmless, beneficial and interesting addition to gardens. Watching them is fascinating.

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