Evil Bitey Things Lurking in Our Midst

I shot this spider with my Canon Digital Rebel XSi, but I was tempted to go back in for the 12 gauge.

Step into my web, little fly

I’m pretty sure this is an Argiope, and its body alone is an inch long. It’s not supposed to be a biter, but I don’t plan to get close enough to find out.

The problem with shooting a pic like this is when you have the camera to your eye, the subject looks huge. When it suddenly pounced on some prey, I was convinced it had just leaped into my shirt and was going to sink its fangs right into my heart. I jumped back and banged my already-sore knee on the sidewalk.

At least I didn’t drop my camera.

The evil, it feeds

I don’t know what it ate, but the victim was gone in a flash. It used three of its legs to stuff the carcass into its mouth. I’m sure it’s only looking for bugs, like all the baby crickets that appeared around our garage this week, but I can’t shake the feeling it’s trying to catch my cat.

Or my kids.