Mike Powell

At this time of the year, a lot of Black and Yellow Garden Spiders (Argiope aurantia) show up, like this one that I spotted recently at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. One of the features of this species is the distinctive zigzag pattern in the center of their webs.

When a prey lands on the web, the spider moves forward quickly to wrap up its victim in webbing material, as you can see in the second photo. Spiders will often wrap up several victims and leave them on the web for a later snack.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.