X MARKS THE SPOT

This amazingly beautiful spider known as "banana spider," "writing spider," "black and yellow garden spider", scientific name Argiope aurantia, can be found in numerous webs around the house and we just leave them alone as they are great for keeping the bugs at bay. It just hangs out in the center of it's web and we NEVER see them move. We had a much larger one near the entrance to the shed that had been there since we arrived almost 4 weeks ago which just up and left on Thursday. This is a rather small one with a total width of about 1".



While I was trimming the spent leaves from the banana trees a few days ago, I came across this odd looking walking stick. it would take a few steps then make itself completely straight by extending it's front legs forward and its side and back legs in close to it's body. According to this LINK, it is a rare sight.