What is this??

[WhyTeDraGon]

Found this in my yard last night. Plan on letting her go, but wanted to get an ID on her first. Any ideas?

 

[ShadowSpectrum]

Just a guess, but it looks like some kind of Araneida to me.

 

[Canfire]

Aranaeus spp.
Orb Weaver
they're really common.

 

[OldHag]

common and VERY cool!!

Hi Crystal!! Long time no see!

 

[NRF]

Barnie

Call it a Barn spider and you probably have a correct ID. But read this thread if you want a scientific name:
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=49398

 

[diadematus]

If it is Araneus cavaticus (and even if one could determine this from photos, I don't think it would be possible from yours), you can call her "Charlotte" (coming soon to a theater near you -- but read the book instead).

-Kevin

 

[Stylopidae]

If it is Araneus cavaticus (and even if one could determine this from photos, I don't think it would be possible from yours), you can call her "Charlotte" (coming soon to a theater near you -- but read the book instead).

-Kevin

The animated circa 1950s movie wasn't bad at all

 

[kahoy]

common also here in PH, kids often fight them on the stick and place bets on who will win, mostly the winner will spank the loser on the head.

 

[Taceas]

VERY common here in SW Indiana, and we too call them Barn Spiders.

Picture of one I took in Autumn 2004

I now have a couple hundred of them roaming freely in my computer room at the moment. I brought in one female whom I thought was dead, forgot about her in the critter keeper. Turns out she wasn't dead, but just really cold. She laid an egg sac which I didn't see and it hatched. So now I've got plants all webbed up and every once in a while I'll have a couple drop down from the ceiling on me.

It's too bad they're so microscopic, I've not had any luck taking a picture of them.

 

[ShadowBlade]

Turns out she wasn't dead, but just really cold.

Haha, I had that happen to me with a Dysdera crocata. She was cocooned in with her eggsack, (this was before I knew much about spiders). So I figured she was dead, and the babies were going to eat her. So I laid her on a piece of paper for close up pictures, and when my nose was about 2" from her, her legs stuck out and almost grabbed me. That gave me a scare!

 

[diadematus]

It's too bad they're so microscopic, I've not had any luck taking a picture of them.

Oh, but you paint a pretty nice picture in words. It again makes me think of Wilbur and Charlotte's offspring -- "Hey, where are you all going?"