Marbled Orb Weaver

These are one of the prettiest spiders in the garden, with a wide range of color variations. In late summer/early fall they use the tall stalks of the delphiniums and monkshoods to make their orbs across my garden paths at face height, which is creepy when you walk into them. They are great at eating bad bugs!

Very interesting! With none of us ever seeing this before in IL- the guys destroyed the first one- he is the one on the board.
Then after searching my digging area for possible more....hoping not!! ....I found #2 along our foundation- and the same size! The second , third photo,fourth photo is of the second one- which they put in a jar- I am going to let him out out back.I realize now -after I had been digging bulbs all day and everything in front of our house ( adding new wooden walks and a deck-That I probably had knocked the first one down in the soil and thats where I found him.
Noted for weaving round orb webs-& is a relative of the common garden (yellow/black )spider that we mostly see here.Since he is beneficial - a good bad insect eater -he will
have to find h... read moreimself a new home -quite away from the house!