It was a balmy day along Piney Woods Church Road, with temperatures nudging into the upper 60s. I searched for the same spider I had seen yesterday, but found another one — much larger than the first — instead. This lovely orbweaver rested calmly at the center of her (most likely a she) web, not even fazed when I brought my camera lens close. This is her underside; efforts to photograph her top side were largely foiled by the locations of nearby loblolly pines. I saw lots of other small insects darting about, so clearly a food source was readily available. Still, I was surprised to see spiders active after our hard frost of a week or so ago, when nighttime temperatures plunged into the lower 20s.
I have since learned that this spider is Larinia directa, a species common to the lower South. It is not mentioned in my guide to Spiders of the Carolinas, suggesting that it is not common there. I am not surprised by this, given that the spider is still active so late in the autumn.
