SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Fall is associated with many things—clear blue skies, colorful foliage, moderate temperatures, and brightly-colored yellow and black spiders that like making zig-zags in their webs.
The common orb weaver spider is found across the continental United States in sunny transition areas, such as trees and shrubs bordering a field or near homes, on a lawn or in a garden. They’re even found in Alaska and Hawaii!
Orb weavers (Argiope aurantia) are black and yellow garden spiders, and although the female and her web are impressive in size, the black and yellow garden spider is a docile creature focused on catching prey.
She prefers to flee to safety when an animal or humans are encountered.
Orb weaver webs often incorporate their noticeable zig-zag pattern, with large, mature spiders, building complex webs.
Orb weavers have an additional third claw on each leg which allows them to create more complex patterns when compared to other spiders. Mature black and yellow orb weavers, sometimes called banana spiders, can build webs in a single night to catch dragonflies, damselflies, wasps, and bees or other insects that fly. Once caught, prey is wrapped in silk and injected with venom that will liquefy internal organs.
Although lethal to prey, orb weaver venom causes little more than discomfort to pets or people–unless they are allergic to the spider’s venom.
Orb weaver spiders hatch in the spring and most live for a year, but some can live longer in warmer climates.
Bentley Fitzpatrick, a county agent who specializes in insects with LSU Ag Center’s Red River Research Station, loves Ark-La-Tex insects and wants to teach others how to recognize the little creatures that cohabitate in the world around us.
Fitpatrick’s Bug of the Month feature will be published on https://www.ktalnews.com/ and we are proud to welcome him to the team.
A veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces, a lover of the great outdoors and an amateur gardener, Fitzpatrick graduated from LA Tech in Ruston prior to attending graduate school at LSU in Baton Rouge. He’s also the father of five.
