Don’t go in the tall grass....

MrsE88

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I first saw a couple of these yellow and black garden spiders(Argiope aurantia) a couple years ago. Now we get 40+ that I can count, in the tall grass around our home.
A few of my favorite pictures
736DC4FD-E2BD-4038-8A93-D668114C7395.jpeg3EBA6147-C247-49D9-ADD9-6C8E69AA29EA.jpeg

I thought it was awesome to see a male with the female in the web. Normally I only see females.
753D8BF3-BA4C-4561-91D8-FFEAF1B19A19.jpeg


There are so many webs with spiders that once I start to see a couple we stop going into the tall grass. Not because we are afraid of them, but because I see them as being a valuable asset. We rarely see many grasshoppers, and I think these guys are to thank for that.

Anyone else have critters they look forward to seeing year to year?
 

fishhead0103666

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Those are banana spiders I think.
Not necessarily a critter but I love finding cicada shells, used to have a small collection of them.

Just looked up banana spider, turns out I’ve been wrong for several years. Not sure what that monstrosity is.
 

Chicxulub

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I first saw a couple of these yellow and black garden spiders(Argiope aurantia) a couple years ago. Now we get 40+ that I can count, in the tall grass around our home.
A few of my favorite pictures
View attachment 1384546View attachment 1384548

I thought it was awesome to see a male with the female in the web. Normally I only see females.
View attachment 1384547


There are so many webs with spiders that once I start to see a couple we stop going into the tall grass. Not because we are afraid of them, but because I see them as being a valuable asset. We rarely see many grasshoppers, and I think these guys are to thank for that.

Anyone else have critters they look forward to seeing year to year?
Absolutely wonderful shots! I love these guys, they pop up in my acreage every year as well. We also get golden orb weavers and several other large species of orb weaver. I also look forward to my pitcher plants and my native orchids. We ALSO have foxes, deer, bobcats, possums, and the like out here. I love nature lol

Those are banana spiders I think.
Not necessarily a critter but I love finding cicada shells, used to have a small collection of them.

Just looked up banana spider, turns out I’ve been wrong for several years. Not sure what that monstrosity is.
She got the ID correct on this spider. What you're thinking of are golden orb weavers (Nephilia clavipes), though the term banana spider can be colloquially applied to both Nephila clavipes and Argiope aurantia.
 

fishhead0103666

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Absolutely wonderful shots! I love these guys, they pop up in my acreage every year as well. We also get golden orb weavers and several other large species of orb weaver. I also look forward to my pitcher plants and my native orchids. We ALSO have foxes, deer, bobcats, possums, and the like out here. I love nature lol



She got the ID correct on this spider. What you're thinking of are golden orb weavers (Nephilia clavipes), though the term banana spider can be colloquially applied to both Nephila clavipes and Argiope aurantia.
I’m not sure how I missed that as it was in the first line of text, my mistake.
Also, your land sounds like a great place to set up a motion activated camera.
 

MrsE88

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Those are banana spiders I think.
Not necessarily a critter but I love finding cicada shells, used to have a small collection of them.

Just looked up banana spider, turns out I’ve been wrong for several years. Not sure what that monstrosity is.
I love cicadas! I find them from time to time each year.
My son found this one yesterday. It just hatched, if that’s what you’d call it. It’s wings were very soft still so I had him set it off in the woods.
BEE23F25-81A5-4162-8596-079A7B8232DA.png

Absolutely wonderful shots! I love these guys, they pop up in my acreage every year as well. We also get golden orb weavers and several other large species of orb weaver. I also look forward to my pitcher plants and my native orchids. We ALSO have foxes, deer, bobcats, possums, and the like out here. I love nature lol
Thank you. I love taking pictures of anything interesting I find outside.
We get one other orb weaver, barn spider? I think. They get pretty big too, but I’ve only see a couple babies this year.
Bobcats are exciting! Do you see them very often?
 

MrsE88

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Chicxulub

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Thank you. I love taking pictures of anything interesting I find outside.
We get one other orb weaver, barn spider? I think. They get pretty big too, but I’ve only see a couple babies this year.
Bobcats are exciting! Do you see them very often?
I get the bobcat(s) on my trail cam from time to time, but I've never actually seen them in person. Well, not on my property at least. With my job as a biologist, I have encountered them in the field a few times. My property (and indeed the majority of the US Southeast) is supposed to be grassland with only a few trees, which is maintained naturally by low grade wildfires. I've been restoring my property to fit this, and the predators love it because of how many different prey species the land can support when it is in a more natural, open state without so many trees. The color fox pic above was taken shortly after a bunch of young trees were mowed.

The barn spider likely belongs to the genus Neoscona. We've got 2 or 3 species of those down here as well. Here's a red legged orb weaver (Neoscona domiciliorum) from my swamp:


40231966_1362381837231359_4139392834530705408_n.jpg


Awesome! I just saw this after posting.
I really want to set some cameras up. I know we have deer, Fox, coyotes, mink, skunks, raccoons and some beautiful great horned owls.
Sadly I rarely see any of these guys.
That's awesome! Get a camera trap, totally worth it!
 

MrsE88

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I get the bobcat(s) on my trail cam from time to time, but I've never actually seen them in person. Well, not on my property at least. With my job as a biologist, I have encountered them in the field a few times. My property (and indeed the majority of the US Southeast) is supposed to be grassland with only a few trees, which is maintained naturally by low grade wildfires. I've been restoring my property to fit this, and the predators love it because of how many different prey species the land can support when it is in a more natural, open state without so many trees. The color fox pic above was taken shortly after a bunch of young trees were mowed.

The barn spider likely belongs to the genus Neoscona. We've got 2 or 3 species of those down here as well. Here's a red legged orb weaver (Neoscona domiciliorum) from my swamp:


View attachment 1384566




That's awesome! Get a camera trap, totally worth it!
That guy is gorgeous!
I’ll have to find one of my little guys tomorrow. Not as cool as yours. Just drab neutral colors.

I think it’s great that you’ve been restoring your land. Wildlife is so important in so many ways. I wish more people appreciated it.
 

Chicxulub

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That guy is gorgeous!
I’ll have to find one of my little guys tomorrow. Not as cool as yours. Just drab neutral colors.

I think it’s great that you’ve been restoring your land. Wildlife is so important in so many ways. I wish more people appreciated it.
I'm fairly partial to nature myself. Watching all the critters come back is a real joy!
 
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