Woo - Scary Spider

[Julia]

I saw the awesomest  spider crawling around on the leaf of one of the sunflowers in my garden yesterday.  It was about a half inch long, *banana yellow*, and had orange-brown markings on both sides.  I didn't  have my camera but have included a sketch to help identify it.  Half-arsed googling has led me nowhere - maybe someone has some ideas?



Thanks,
Julia

[Anonymous]

Julia

A good chance that it was a Goldenrod Spider.
Range is thru-out the USA and southern Canada.
Colour is to camouflage the spider on Goldenrod and other Yellow flowers like Yellow Daisies.

Check the following web site        http://www.fcps.edu/StratfordLandingES/ ... spider.htm

Norm

[Julia]

Thanks Norm!
I checked the link and the second photo from the top is spot on what I saw.  Plus, it was on a sunflower plant, so the colour makes sense.
Bug watching is almost as exciting as birdwatching, but a lot more frustrating because there's so much more diversity.

Thanks again!
Julia