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Both you and Norman are correct. Many of the Argiope species are called Golden orb weavers. Sometimes they simply are called garden spiders.
Cheers
Jon

Seen on the side of the road just north of Van Rhynsdorp on my recent trip to Namaqualand...Is it a golden orb spider ?



And this one tried to hijack my bed in the chalet in Namaqua NP...needless to say after I took his photo he was booted right outside...I do not share my bed with flippen things like this! Can anybody give it a name please...the names I came up with at the time were not very polite !!!!!!

Caracal,
Yes the first spider is one of the Orb-web spiders. Great photo!
The second one apppears to be a Nursery Web Spider -family Pisauridae. Was it very large? Nursery Web spiders can have a leg span of up to 60mm. Last year while at a private reserve, we had one on the ceiling of our safari tent right above the bed one night. It is very disconcerting to have a large spider above you, even if it is harmless. I tried to get it to move off to an area of the ceiling that was not right above us, but it proved to be quite stubborn. I finally was able to coax it away, all the while my SO was sure I was going to cause it to jump on her while she layed in bed!

Thank you normana53 for your prompt reply.
Yes the second spider was very large..at least 60mm if not more....Aaaaargh !!! It was scary.... Your SO was brave ..there is just no ways I would share my bedroom with a spider.

Hi all


JUST a huge rain spider????
West Beach, Cape Town...

I would say it is... or, rather was as it looks a little bit 'dead' to me.

yes well.... uhhhmmm.... sorry... LOL ... but I have a serious phobia!!!! Been asking the universe to keep them outside (which it has) and hidden from now on
Cos there was another smaller one the other day that nearly hitched a ride on my cat's tail as she brushed past it ... shudder!!!
So from now on ... please may they stay outside and hidden!!! Tx!

Andrea

Belated thanks to both norman53 and Jon for your help with this ID. I've been mostly off the forum for the past 2+ months and am only now catching up very slowly

please help ID this guy.
sorry that its not alive and kicking but my moms been bitten enough times that she doesnt have any mercy for living spiders

Violin???

Although I am not able to find another similar specimen in my Martin Filmer book, I'll volunteer an answer: The slight green colouration on the abdomen indicates (IMHO) that it is a plant (living) spider. Therefore also quite harmless to humans???

The shape bothers me, but the colour suggests a lynx spider, somewhat the worse for wear. Badly the worse for wear. Nothing to worry about, except one spider less.

I am sure your mother is sure, but I hope she does not mind my grunting a bit cynically about the number of times she has been bitten. Every survey I have read, and many of the times I have been asked to confirm a spider bite, supported the hypothesis that "spider bites" are overwhelmingly mis-attributed.

Better luck with the next one!

Jon

Hi there, we have about 4 of these in our front near our front door and about 3 in the backyard along our washing line in the evenings. Are they Orb-weavers or something else, are they dangerous (as they seem to be growing bigger everyday) and how do I safely get rid of them as they give me the creeps...

Hi Popple,
I am afraid I cannot give you a species, and your pics were a bit blurred, but I am fairly confident that your spiders are in the genus Araneus. People wo call them anything more than "SPIDERRRR!" call them hairy field spiders, which sounds a bit unfriendly. Why not "velvety orb weaver" or something more in keeping with their attractiveness? They are completely harmless unless you are a fly or moth. They spin orb webs every night and eat them in the early morning, not to waste the protein. Don't evict them; they are happy where they are, as you can tell from their being more than one of them.
And certainly do not even dream of harming them! Leave that job to your local butcher birds, sunbirds, and wasps,

Cheers,

Jon

Thank Jon, as long as I know they are harmless to us then that should be fine, I will leave them alone then.