Argiope aurantia

Lots of folks love Charlotte’s Web, but did you know there really is a “writing” spider? It’s the golden garden spider, which constructs a zigzag pattern in the middle of its web that resembles writing. You’ll find the leggy critters throughout North Carolina and you can recognize them by their bright yellow and black markings. This non-poisonous arthropod spins its web using three sets of silk glands— one for radial threads, one for food-catching threads, and a third for the zigzag writing. When the spider replaces a web, it eats the old silk. How’s that for recycling?

Cool Links:

Golden Garden Spider - description, range and natural history, from the San Diego Museum of Natural History.

Spider Photos - an amazing number of photos of golden garden spiders and some of their relatives. This site was put together by fifth graders in Brisbane, Australia, and has lots of other neat spider stuff including poems, songs, stories, chocolate 'spiders', and a "Spider Food Hunt" game.

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