Argiope aurantia (Black and Yellow Garden Spider) male and female…

Hello everyone! I hope this post finds you all doing well! Yesterday when I was watering in the north bed I discovered a couple of new friends. If you remember last year I posted about three different Black and Yellow Garden Spider females I had been watching. The bigger one in the Forsythia disappeared. Now I have another one to watch. 🙂

This time, she is not alone…

Argiope aurantia female on 8-12-18, #495-2.

This girl is pretty good sized already. I didn’t get the take measure out because she was already not happy with me… I was watering the Colocasia esculenta and she got a good soaking. I didn’t know she was there until she moved…

Argiope aurantia male on 8-12-18, #495-3.

Then I noticed she was not alone in her web. She is being courted… This is the first time I have seen a male Black and Yellow Garden spider in my life and it is pretty exciting. He is so much smaller than she is.

I think the story goes that she doesn’t like him she will eat him. If she does like him she “may” allow him to live after they, you know, do their thing…

DAY TWO AFTER DISCOVERY…

Today, Monday, he is still alive and well. He is keeping his distance, though. He is so small and hiding up my the leaves you can barely see him. He is giving her the eye and she is giving him the eye but perhaps for different reasons. Maybe she is thinking he is just a boy and she needs a man. We shall see how this plays out…

Well, I am afraid one of them may not be long for this world. I am pretty impressed he has lasted this long.

There is another interesting spider with its web attached to the water hydrant I need to take photos of, too. I just haven’t remembered to take my camera when I am getting water for the chickens.

Until next time, which may be sooner than you think, stay well, be safe, positive and so on. You may not have time to get dirty before my next post. 🙂