Black and Yellow Spiders

We have had a glorious summer in Vermont!  The weather has been really remarkable.  Lots of sunshine, enough rain, and only three days above 90 degrees.  Most days were in the 70s and low 80s.
I'm usually eager for autumn to arrive, but this year I am holding on to these beautiful summer days with both hands even though the signs of a changing season are popping up everywhere.

Last week I needed to move the electric netting to create a new pasture space for the goats and sheep. I didn't get to it until fairly late in the day, and about the time I was finished it was dark.  The last step before the animals can go into the new pasture is a final walk around the perimeter to make sure all the posts are in properly and everything is tight. Because it was so late,  I decided to wait until the morning to do my walk by.

I was up quite early, before the sun was fully up, and as I walked to the pasture I saw the most remarkable spider webs.  The dew was still heavy, and with the angle of the sun so low, the webs glistened and sparkled.  They were everywhere! I've been in that pasture so many times, and I have never seen spider webs like this there, or anywhere else, before.

When I looked at the individual webs, I was even more impressed because of their size and beauty.  Some were easily 2 feet in diameter.  

And then I noticed the spider itself.  Yikes!  It was huge, too!

A phone call and a few internet searches later, I learned that these webs are the work of female Black and Yellow Garden Spiders.  The females are much larger than the males.  I read all sorts of interesting things about these spiders, including the fact that they breed once a year. Often, when the male approaches the female, he has a safety drop line ready, in case she attacks him. After mating, the male dies, and then is often eaten by the female.

I also read that once prey is snagged by the web, the spider will undulate her web to further entrap her dinner before she injects her venom.

And, amazingly, the spider builds a new web EVERY day. In the morning. I must have arrived just as they were finishing up.

This is the actual size of the spider.  (Photo image courtesy of Wikipedia).  

I should point out that these spiders are harmless to humans.  I have to admit that as much as I love looking at the webs, this photo of the spider on the hand makes me feel a little itchy and creeped out....

This pasture full of spider webs looked an awful lot like Mother Nature was getting started early on her Halloween decorations.