There seem to be a number of Black and Yellow Garden Spiders making their home among the vegetation around the boardwalk at the lake. These large-orb spiders are also known as the “Writing Spider”, “Zig-Zag Spider” or “Zipper Spider” because of the heavy white silk decorations which are spun into the center of their elaborate webs. The decorations resemble writing, and differ from web to web.
One of the webs caught my attention because of the way the spider was vibrating it back and forth. This is called “web flexing” and is thought to be a defense from predators or a way to entangle prey. Whatever the reason, the action is enough to make one dizzy if watched for very long.
“Your life is your story. Write well. Edit often.” ~Susan Statham
walking on a country road 
Beautiful photos. I love zipper spiders. I haven’t seen any this year.
They have always been interesting to me. I haven’t seen any except around the lake.
Your photos are mesmerizing!
I’m always amazed by the intricate patterns in the webs, some of which were quite large. 🙂
WOW! How amazing.
Thanks, Cindy!
I like these colorful spiders, like Tim, I haven’t seen any this year. I guess the birds found all the egg sacs last year.
They are one of my favorites. I have only seen them around the lake where the vegetation is quite heavy.
Very interesting Rebecca. I have never seen the Zipper Spiders and in these pictures of the web, it does look like a zipper – that’s amazing. Even more amazing is that video – I did feel dizzy after watching the spider’s web flexing.
The web was bouncing about so that it was impossible not to notice it. If anything was after the spider, it probably just turned and went away thinking about how crazy that spider was. 🙂
It’s a wonder how they know just what to do 🙂
They are quite amazing when you think about it.