depscribe's photos with the keyword: spider

Saw this character in the grass while I was coming in from tilling the garden, at dusk. It made me realize that I know next to nothing about spider identification. I'm fairly sure, though, that it is a spider. Was maybe an inch and a quarter from legtip to opposite legtip. Could move pretty quickly, but then would get totally still. Tried to shoot it face-on, but it would have none of it.

A pretty typical sight this time of year in the midwestern U.S. Look at it full size for the best detail.

I have no way of knowing the proper name of this little inch-long arachnid, but I was much taken with how closely it resembles the yellowjacket hornet, and I suspect that its coloration has something to do with that miserable stringing insect.

This guy was more than three inches from leg tip to leg tip.