Black and Yellow Garden Spider

The spider species Argiope aurantia is commonly known as the Black and Yellow Garden Spider, Writing Spider, or Corn Spider. It is common to the lower 48 of the United States, Hawaii, southern Canada, Mexico, and Central America. They have distinctive yellow and black markings on their abdomens and a mostly white cephalothorax. Males range from .2 to .35 inches (5–9 mm); females from .75 to 1.1 inches (19–28 mm). Like other members of Argiope they are considered harmless to humans.