She’s an Argiope aurantia, also known as a writing spider because of the stabilimenta or zig-zag patterns the species weaves into its webs. You can see some of them in the pic.
My son spotted her on our lavender plant a few weeks ago, and she’s come to be kind of a family friend. But I haven’t seen her since Hurricane Hanna blew through last weekend. I hope she’s okay. The lavender looks lonely without her.
