I about bumped into this lady in the garden today, and scared both of us!

This female garden spider was about 2 inches long claw-to-claw. Garden spiders produce a venom that is harmless to humans but immobilizes insects that are caught in her web. The zig-zaggy web below her is called a stabilimentum. The purpose is not known, but some suspect it is a warning to birds not to fly into the web.

She may or may not be in the same place tomorrow. These spiders have been known to eat their web at the end of the day, and re-spin it the next day.

Isn’t it a fascinating world?