Argiope aurantia - Black and Yellow Garden Spider

[GQ.]

I found several of these during a quick search around a park in Roanoke, VA yesterday. They are truly incredible to see in life. The one pictured is the largest one I spotted. I found several other interesting orb weavers and miscellaneous critters while I was there. Unfortunately I only had my travel camera with me. It doesn't have macro and is only 2.0 megapixel. It doesn't take great insect and arachnid photos.

I also had my first ever run-in with chiggers. After bug hunting I headed back to the hotel. Once there I noticed little black specks on my pantlegs. Chiggers! I stripped down, threw my socks in the trash, and hopped in the shower. Luckily I saw them before they had a chance to make it to my skin. Any good tips on how to avoid chiggers in chigger country?

 

[galeogirl]

Great spider pic.

I've always heard that you should tuck your pants into your boots to avoid chiggers, strip outside once you're back from the field and launder your clothes in hot water. If you can't launder right away, double bag your field clothes in plastic bags until you can wash them.

 

[spydrhunter1]

DEET...Sprayed on pants legs it keeps all the bitey things away. If you don't like chemicals (who does), use Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus.

 

[GQ.]

Thanks Galeo and Spydr. I'll keep your tips in mind next time I'm in chigger territory.

 

[Galapoheros]

Before you get into your pants and hiking boots/shoes, spray them with DEETs like mentioned in the previous post. "OFF". Chiggers are like ticks but we humans aren't good hosts. We have fingernails and scratch the microscopic organism off. You mentioned "small black things"? I don't think these are chiggers. Maybe "seed ticks". Chiggers are barely visible to the naked eye. My ankles have been infested with seed ticks. 100's of them at once. Took weeks to heal. "Goggle" chiggers and you will get some good info. Not black.

 

[GQ.]

Thanks Galapheros. You may be right. They did seem readily visible even in the dim lighting. I have never had personal experience with chiggers, no-see-ums, or seed ticks. A coworker had recently told me about his encounter with chiggers when he heard I liked to tromp the fields. He said he saw black specks on his socks the night he was infested with chiggers. His horror story made an impression on me yesterday. I HATE to itch. When I saw those specks I acted fast! I didn't wait to confirm the pest ID. I immediately thought chiggers. I brushed them off of my pants into the shower as soon I undressed. I was out of my clothes and into the shower in less than a minute after I initially spotted the offending specks. Makes me itch just thinking about them!

 

[Sheri]

What the hell are chiggers?

Nice spider.

Not sure I'd run the risk of getting some of these chigger-thingies hitchin' a ride home on me though to get it.

 

[Crotalus]

What the hell are chiggers?

Chinese pretending to be a black person?

Nice picture Gil!

/Lelle

 

[Wade]

They're a blood feeding mite. By the time the itching starts, the mite has already fed and dropped off. Contrary to popular opintion, they do not burrow into the skin. Various folk remedies suggest coating the bites with clear nail polish to "smother" the mite, but as I said, the mite has already dropped off so if the nail polish provides relief it's due to something else. I had a horrible case of chiggers while collecting in a grassy area in AZ a few years back. What a nightmare! The scratching! The oozing wounds!

GQ, were the things you saw definately arachnids? I think both chiggers and seed ticks would have found your flesh well before you returned home. Both are extremely unpleasant!

Wade

 

[spydrhunter1]

I picked up my worst case on a trip to the Peruvian Amazon-I had them from my ankles to waist. They took weeks to heal, you'd think an entomologist would know enough to prevent themselves from being infested. Those were of course my younger more foolish days.

 

[GQ.]

GQ, were the things you saw definately arachnids? I think both chiggers and seed ticks would have found your flesh well before you returned home. Both are extremely unpleasant!

I didn't look at them closely enough to determine if they were arachnids or not. I was actually only in the park for maybe fifteen minutes before I headed to the hotel which was only one or two minutes away. I don't think they could have been on me for very long. If I would have been out longer they would have been more likely to get on my skin. Maybe next time I won't panic as quickly and I'll take a better look at them.

 

[Sheri]

I picked up my worst case on a trip to the Peruvian Amazon-I had them from my ankles to waist. They took weeks to heal, you'd think an entomologist would know enough to prevent themselves from being infested. Those were of course my younger more foolish days.

Hmmmm, we seemed to be able to avoid them no problem. I was itchy as hell, and had some strange marks... but most were mosquito bites. The unidentified ones I never figured out.

We each picked up a tic though... but those are no big deal. I get tons of them here. It was Lelle's first though.

 

[Wade]

It's not like they're everywhere. Generally, it happens when you're walking through tall grass or other foiliage and the critters drop off and onto you, same as ticks. I've only had it happen once, despite spending lots of time in prime chigger habitat.

Wade