Found a nest in the backyard, w/ pics!

[synic]

I couldn't find the mom or pop, or maybe they just don't get any bigger than this:

I know the pictures aren't the best, but those little things were SMALL, and my phone kept trying to focus the leaves. They are about the size of a sesame seed, with yellow bodies and black legs.

Anyone have any clue what they are? I know it's a longshot...

 

[RyTheTGuy]

My guess is they are golden orb weavers.
http://www.ayavaya.com/spider-photos/golden-orb-weaver

 

[Scoolman]

My guess is they are golden orb weavers.
http://www.ayavaya.com/spider-photos/golden-orb-weaver

+1..... here

 

[synic]

In Seattle?

Though I think you're probably right. Found this link: http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2011/04/24/orbweaver-spiderlings/

They look pretty similar, no?

 

[RyTheTGuy]

Well Wiki says they are common in the 48 states. Yes those look quite similar.

 

[xhexdx]

It doesn't make sense that they'd be huddled by themselves without the female nearby. I'd also think they would be higher up in a tree, not in shrubs.

You didn't find them connected to an orb web, I presume?

 

[synic]

They were in a web, but it wasn't very orby. The shrub you see is at the top of a 7 foot concrete wall, so maybe it would do. Now I want to go down there and look for the female.

---------- Post added at 08:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:12 PM ----------

Ok, went down for a closer look. On the top of the shrub, there's about a 4 foot area that is just covered with a messy webbing, and these little guys are all over it, not just clumped up in that one area. They are tightrope walking on this messy web. There must be hundreds of them.

No sign of an orb web or any other spiders nearby. I'm probably just not seeing it.

 

[RyTheTGuy]

They mate once per year, after which the male dies and it usually consumed. The females die when winter comes. The egg sacs, up to 4, release their teeny tiny spiders in the spring. You wont find any adults near the spiderlings, they are most likely dead.

 

[Bayushi]

It doesn't make sense that they'd be huddled by themselves without the female nearby. I'd also think they would be higher up in a tree, not in shrubs.

You didn't find them connected to an orb web, I presume?

Okay so I come across these sights every year down here in Vancouver washington, in trees and on bushes and even fence posts. What you got in the pic is a group on newly hatched orb weavers that are starting to head out from the egg sack. I have never seen a mother spider nearby or even a Web when I find these. I beleive the reason there is never a mother spider around is due the the fact that female Araeniidae pass away shortly after laying eggs. I do know that they will eventually drop web lines and be carried off by the wind. it's fascinating to watch and can take as little as a few hours or as long as a few days.

 

[xhexdx]

Ah, interesting. I learned something new today.

 

[synic]

Ah, interesting. I learned something new today.

Me too! Thanks folks

 

[Malhavoc's]

the massive cluster of web is made by the spiderlings as they disperse to balloon away most females will die after laying the sac which I think they do in late fall which hatches in the spring, I could be wrong, its a very fascinating sight, and my god, they web FAST, an entire section of bush can go from no web to covered within 30 minutes!

 

[The Spider Faery]

Okay so I come across these sights every year down here in Vancouver washington, in trees and on bushes and even fence posts. What you got in the pic is a group on newly hatched orb weavers that are starting to head out from the egg sack. I have never seen a mother spider nearby or even a Web when I find these. I beleive the reason there is never a mother spider around is due the the fact that female Araeniidae pass away shortly after laying eggs. I do know that they will eventually drop web lines and be carried off by the wind. it's fascinating to watch and can take as little as a few hours or as long as a few days.

Bingo. I used to see these spiderlings on Summer vacations to Newfoundland as a child, and like you mentioned, I did see them on fence posts, and observe them ballooning away in the wind! I agree that they're orbweavers (a very common backyard spider to the place where I was staying), and I never observed the mother with the spiderlings either.

 

[John Apple]

argipoe sp...two to pick from aurantiaca or trifasciata...even looks like A. trifolium babies

 

[zonbonzovi]

Argiope's aren't very common here in W. Wa. I'd guess Araneus because of the location and because this is a very typical time for seeing these massive dispersals. You'll know soon enough when you can't step in any direction of your yard without getting a spider facial