Night of the Web Weavers

  Who likes to walk into a spider web unannounced? We start batting our arms trying to wipe it off. Impossible!

 I've been watching an Orb Weaver (Yellow Garden Spider or Argiope aurantia) do his work on the outside of our kitchen window. I often look up and see his black and yellow body sitting at  the top of the web, waiting for the telltale vibration of a trapped insect.

 This morning,  though, I've marveled at the webs strung between tree branches in the high humidity (95%) after the past day's rain. The drops of moisture make them stand out like gossamer ropes.

 I've seen them cover the vast distance across our neighbor's lane (visible on the far right in the photo above). When I first saw it I carefully walked around it and smiled at my resourcefulness. Later, when I took the dog out, I walked right through it.

 I've noticed, too, the tiny puffs of webs atop the grass, like pincushions made of exhaled smoke. They're everywhere this morning.

Credit: The Augusta Chronicle

 The Argiope is made visible every fall as the seasons change.