(a57) Post Garden Spiders!

Here's that huge preggo Araneus diadematus (Euro Garden Spider) outside my place. Mixed feelings for these bruisers as they have some variation among the species and look impressive but are really displacing the native Agriope sp. (Black and Yellow Garden Spiders) that I used to find all over when I was a kid, but now seem far more scarce.

Got any Garden Spiders to post? This is the time of year for them... Finding them can be oddly easy or really challenging, depending on the areas - most wildlife will be more easily seen along construction zones (disturbed areas are always good for finding local fauna), the borderline of wooded areas along fields, anything where there's a change from more open land to more dense foliage. Near a creek or pond is ideal.

This is the female, the second is the male, who also hangs out in her web.

Male: