need ID!

[Immortal_sin]

ok..I am now the official neighborhood spider lady!
I got a knock on my door a few minutes ago, and a couple neighbor kids brought me this spider from their garden.
They were really creeped out, but thought I'd like it LOL!
Can anyone help me with ID?
I was thinking some sort of orb weaver, but really have no idea.
I'm in Western Oregon, right at the base of the Coast Range of mountains.

 

[Immortal_sin]

another view:

 

[Immortal_sin]

another:

 

[Code Monkey]

It's an Argiope, not sure on species ranges but looks similar to aurantia. You can do the free range spider like I did last year. Just give it a nice open corner and it will build it's web there and let you toss crickets in for it.

 

[Immortal_sin]

and the last one. I took about 20 pics, I couldn't get it to be STILL. It kept taking off across the living room carpet

 

[Immortal_sin]

oh bummer....we already let it go in our garden!
Oh well, at least I got some pics of it.
She's quite the fat one too...I'm thinking now is the time for eggsacs with these?

 

[Mister Internet]

Originally posted by Code Monkey
It's an Argiope, not sure on species ranges but looks similar to aurantia. You can do the free range spider like I did last year. Just give it a nice open corner and it will build it's web there and let you toss crickets in for it.

Chip's right on the money. These can be found in most farmland areas in fencerows and tall grasses... the sexual dimorphism is actually quite striking. Often, you can find males at the perimeter of the (GORGEOUS) web and they look very small and bland compared to the female.

I used to entertain myself for hours tossing grasshoppers into their webs in the summer... we had them by the hundreds! (the spiders, not the hoppers )

 

[Cooper]

the spiders, not the hoppers

then the hoppers must have been in the millions with your unsatiable curiosity!;P

 

[scorpio]

Heh. I just cought a little orby, and they do have quite the appetite. They eat an entire cricket about the size of their body a day.