That's right: Ugh. Look what I found in my yard.
Have you ever seen anything more hideous in the environs of your home? One of these monsters lives just outside my kitchen, the other visible from my bedroom window. I've seen a grasshopper stuck cross-wise in the web of one of these monsters, and then seen it disappear as the spider eats it.
I don't do well with spiders.
Normal looking brown and black spiders of a respectable size, sure. I have removed my share of arachnids from college dorm rooms and apartments in my day, but even I have my limits.
Still, strangely enough, as I take a ramble through my backyard, I always stop by these two webs to check in on the strangers in my garden. Today I finally decided to see what kinds they were, if they were native to my area, and if they had the poison potential to eat my cat.
As it turns out, they're apparently quite common and known as the Yellow Garden Spider. (Read more here at insectidentification.org.) Their webs are beautiful (and both in my yard have the characteristic zig-zag), and their colors are indeed striking. I just wonder that I'd never seen one before. If I had, there's the slight possibility my stomach wouldn't flip every time I see one anew.
I'm also hoping they prefer the winter's cold to my house's warmth. Finding one of these in my backyard is one thing. Seeing one waltzing across my bedspread would be quite another.
At any rate, based on its colors, I'm guessing it likes Western PA the best. After all, where else do black and gold spell "local" than in Steelers Country?
