My coworker found this lovely spider in her backyard a few days ago. We’re both at a loss to identify it (not that we’re experts, or anything). She lives in the LA area, specifically in the San Gabriel foothills. She said it’s about the size of a quarter.
Yup that’s it! Thank you (from me and my coworker).
This is really interesting. I am an ex-arachnophobe who overdid the cure and am now obsessed with them. I have just secured a contract to write a book for adults about them - so the obsession is going to get worse.
This is very like our Australian Garden Orb Weavers: Eriophora sp.
http://www.amonline.net.au/factSheets/orb_weaving_spiders.htm
From that link you can also see the magnificent Golden Orb Weavers which are much bigger than the garden orb weavers. The moment when my conversion happened was the night I first watched a Garden Orb Weaver weave her web. It took about 45 minutes and I was addicted from that moment on. Have you ever watched your Aranea spinning a web?
Like my next book to be published in November which is titled Crocodile, Spider will focus on Australian spiders but put them very much in a global context. Hence being so inspired by the Garden Orb Weavers here I would be very keen to hear anything you have to say about your Aranea, or any other spiders, in America - or anywhere else! We addicts need our fixes!
Lynne