And she asked me if I can get this Orb weaver ID. mainly because she does not believe me that it is an orb weaver... Oh well

I couldn't get it narrowed down to a species, but I'm pretty sure I got you a genus. Looks like an Argiope sp. http://bugguide.net/node/view/2007/bgpage

thanks :)

argiope trifasciata...cool spiders that make a stabilimentum in the web center

thanks guys, I got a little upset with her when she had her husband step on it. so I'm hoping if she learns more about them she wont go round trying to get them murdered.


constance

Constance on one of my summer hunts you and your hubby are more than welcome to come along and catch as many as you want, that is a shame it was killed, judging from the non symetrical shape of the abdomen she has laid a sac...look around where she was found and you might find a bowl shaped eggsac that is somewhat tan

That is a beautiful spider, love the pattern. Shame people just kill things for no reason...

my friend is back in texas. she sent the picture to me and told me that Dusty stepped on it. I dont dare tell her there might be a sac, she will flip out. The babies have a much better chance if I never even hint at that possability.

Argiopes are awesome. They are pretty much found world wide too. I remember seeing one as a kid up in WA.
And on a recent trip to Peru, my brother snapped a pic of a few of them as well.