Along came a spider

During my afternoon walk I came upon this Orb Spider (Banded Garden Spider or Argiope trifasciata) on the exposed pavement instead of their usual large delicate webs strung higher in the foliage.

I often found these giants hanging from their beautiful webs in my garden beds or meadows back in New England. The large webs were often a couple of feet in diameter and are works of art when coated with dew or illuminated by the sun.

This beauty can be found in all states and despite its intimidating appearance it's not dangerous to humans but could inflict a painful bite if mishandled (I gently shooed this one off of the road back into the roadside vegetation).