[Ditter]

It looks like the spiders we have on the Texas Gulf coast we call ‘writer spiders’. The make a design in the middle of their webs that looks like script. Harmless but big and scary looking.

[Ev Reeman]

Spiders are not particularly attractive creatures but the majority of them are beneficial.

[JoeProBono]

The spider species Argiope aurantia is commonly known as the Black and Yellow Garden Spider, Writing Spider, Banana 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 5 to 9 mm (0.2-0.35"); females from 19 to 28 mm (0.75-1.1"). Like other members of Argiope they are considered harmless to humans.