Well, if you don't care for spiders, don't look at this photo!
I've never been a big fan of spiders myself, but I think after seeing the spider on rollar skates in Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, I've sort of developed a new way of dealing with them!
This harmless garden spider is a Argiope aurantia also known as a Black & Yellow Writing Spider.
I first noticed her on the soffit above my front porch. I was so taken with her web. And yes, this is a female. The males of the species don't look anything like the female.
What really caught my attention was her web. That heavy zig/zag down the middle of the web reminded me of the zig/zag stitch on my sewing machine!
A spider and/or spider web was a popular motif on Crazy Quilts for the Victorians. They believed it was good luck to have a spider in their house. Hmmm....I don't think I want this one in my house but she would certainly make for a beautiful embroidered motif on a CQ!
I had noticed that she was moving every couple of days. I thought maybe she was trying to find a better neighborhood! It wasn't until I did a bit of research this morning that I found out that she moves on a regular basis, eating her web almost daily and then building a new one. She's now on the soffit on the side of my house.
Anyway, as I've mentioned before, I can take beautiful photos of birds and butterflies which are always moving but give me something sitting perfectly still and it always comes out blurry!
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5 hours ago
3 comments:
They believed it was good luck to have a spider in their house. Hmmm....
My house is loaded with spiders...I wonder where the luck is...?
Thank god none of them look as creepy as your spider! (any spider thick and hairy...has to go!)
I am always the odd one out in any group of people, as I like spiders. Dad always taught us to respect them, leave them in the house to do what Nature intended - get rid of the flies and other disease carrying insects. Did you know that spiders do not carry disease? I love to look at their webs on a cold morning, all covered with dew or rain. All that work, only to be blown or swept away the next day. We have a spider that makes a similar web to yours, Pam, but I can't remember the name of it. They are such busy little critters - I think they look so cute, scuttling from one side of the ceiling to the other, or down a wall in a hurry! And for those Aussies who promptly squash any Huntsmen spiders in their house, you need to be aware that they prey on white-tail spiders, and if you don't know how venomous THEY are, you should read up on them. So, leave the furry Huntsmen to do their job!
This one is so beautiful to me and the web is just amazing! We don't get too many spiders in the house which is ok with me and the ones outside, well, I kind of figure that's where they belong so I leave them alone.
Scott and I don't like to kill anything. If it's something that doesn't belong in the house, we'll try to get it outside. Wish you could have seen us with the mouse that got in the house 2 years ago! 4 cats chasing this tiny mouse back and forth! We finally got the poor little thing in the bedroom, the cats behind the closed door and Scott trying to catch the mouse in a waste basket! Took us 20 minutes but we finally got him safely outside without him being harmed.
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