The yellow garden spider was wrapping a grasshopper that had gotten caught in her web when I stopped to check on her this morning. Apparently the spiders inject their prey with venom to kill them, then wrap them in silk for later consumption. I have seen grasshoppers stuck there a number of times.
I've been checking the yellow garden spider every day since I first spotted her. She's still at the same location, but when I looked on Monday she wasn't in the centre of her web as usual, but was off to one side guarding her egg sac as seen here. Apparently the spider will be killed by a hard frost, but her egg sac will remain until spring when the eggs will hatch, releasing up to 1,000 baby spiders, each the size of a dust mite. (Image Photoshopped)
I met a new creature at the marsh yesterday. One of its common names is Yellow Garden Spider, or technically Argiope aurantia. Doing a little research on the arachnid, I discovered that it is a very common spider, found throughout most of the U.S. and in southern Canada. It usually stays in the same spot all season long. It consumes the central part of its web every day, then spins a new centre. Yesterday there was a partially eaten grasshopper in its web. Today the spider was in the same spot, and the grasshopper was gone. The tiny green midge in the lower shot got caught in its web while I was watching.
