July 20, 2026

I am a Florida Garden Spider

I'm like the Yellow Garden Spider except - 

My butt looks like a crown

It has gold and it's round

But at building webs, we are both quite adept.

Location: Seabranch Preserve State Park, Stuart

Sources: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/127353-Argiope-florida

Photo and text © 2026 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

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September 19, 2022

I am an Argiope florida

I look similar to the Yellow Garden Spider

But I don't have much bright yellow on me

And my abdomen is bumpier and wider.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/127353-Argiope-florida

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/67707-Argiope-aurantia

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 22, 2021

I am a Florida Garden Spider

I eat insects such as bees and flies,

But I will not eat the Ornate Bella Moth - 

They protect themselves from their own demise.

Both the male and the female Ornate Bella Moth

Obtain pyrrolizidine alkaloids from plants

The male gives the female more of that 

When they are involved in romance. 

The female passes the chemical

On to her eggs which makes them taste bitter

If I catch an Ornate Bella moth in my web

I set it free and wait for a tastier critter.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources:  https://www.jstor.org/stable/2366497 (If you can't access this article, just sign up for a free JSTOR account, which lets you read 100 free research articles every month. This is one of my favorite sources.)

Photos and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson