Spotted orbweaver

On October 4th, while walking along a path through some woods on the far side of my neighborhood, I came across this spotted orbweaver spider, Neoscona crucifera, hanging from a strand of silk. (Thanks to Joe Lapp for identifying the species.) Because the area was shaded, there was no way I could avoid using flash. After I took several pictures, the spider scooted up onto the branch from which the silk was hanging, and that gave me a chance to photograph its ventral side.

© 2018 Steven Schwartzman