Spiders of the Late Summer

[OakAshandThorn]

I came across these fellows today on an early morning wander/forage.
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The first and third are female Black and Yellow Argiopes - beautifully coloured orb weavers, but they're becoming less common in my area (pesticides?). They can grow quite large...I remember one many years back that was easily the size of my hand (arachnaphobics beware :shocked: :evilgrin:). The zigzag pattern in the centre is formed by the male, and for me, seeing that is a sure sign that Autumn is near at hand.
I believe the second one is a Cross spider (also female).
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I almost stumbled into the second Argiope's web, looking for River Grapes - so I stepped back and looked up, and saw lots of them ...well beyond my reach unfortunately. :mad2:

[saxonaxe]

Early morning when the webs are soaked with dew is a real eye opener at times, it's easy to see so many webs that are missed in the later daylight. The big orb webs are wonderous things when you look at them closely, like lace master pieces.

No grapes around here but the Blackberries this year are bigger than I've seen for years. My vitamin C intake has rocketed..;)

[BJ]

http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/fear/t3613.gif (http://yoursmiles.org/t-fear.php)

[OakAshandThorn]

Early morning when the webs are soaked with dew is a real eye opener at times, it's easy to see so many webs that are missed in the later daylight. The big orb webs are wonderous things when you look at them closely, like lace master pieces.

No grapes around here but the Blackberries this year are bigger than I've seen for years. My vitamin C intake has rocketed..;)
Indeed - it can take the spider up to 8 hours to construct it...and they can be over a meter in diameter with the Argiopes :D.
The blackberries weren't overly big this year around here, but the ripening season was cut short by those awful 2 weeks of June when the temps reached 35 C with 80-90% humidity...miserable. The Black Cherries did very well, though.
With the grapes, I was surprised that they did not taste unbearably sour, as they usually are...this year they have a tart-like sweetness with a decent balance of sourness. Usually only Frost Grapes are the least sharp.

[OakAshandThorn]

http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/fear/t3613.gif (http://yoursmiles.org/t-fear.php)
At least those weren't full-sized females! :p

[Chubbs]

the Blackberries this year are bigger than I've seen for years. My vitamin C intake has rocketed..;)

Same down here in Cornwall mate, its crammed with them. I picked 10lbs with the kids a few days ago and its now turned into jam. We need to pick another thirty pound or so to keep the missus sorted for crumble and pies until next season.