Spider!
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
December 3, 2011 9:55 pm
I came home today to find this spider on my front porch. I’ve never seen one like this before. It has large fangs! Do you know what it is? It’s body is about 1 inch long. This picture does no justice for the vividness of the colors.
Signature: Lucretia in California
Hi Lucretia,
This beautiful spider is a Banded Garden Orbweaver, Argiope trifasciata. It is considered harmless, though it is possible it might bite a person if carelessly handled, though the bite would normally just cause local soreness and swelling.