It's truly one of my favorite pastimes here in SW Ohio to go trail running in July-August and be totally and suddenly suprised (even though it's already happened a half dozen times in the last ten minutes), to have a face full of spider web and that freaky creepy crawly feeling knowing that "AAAAA!!! TTHERE'S A SPIDER ON ME SOMEWHERE!!!!!!"
But I do love nature! Oh yes! That's why I keep going on the trails. I learned years ago to watch out for them and go around, but you can't see them all!
Anyway, I have identified the "Micrathena" type, black bodies with big, white, spiky abdomens.
But there is another, much like the pictures you have labeled as "orb weavers". There seem to be two of your pics with the same name, this one is an example, and they appear they might be the other trail-web-builder spider for which I am looking for the name.
I think both of your pictures show the bottom of the spider. I am most familar with the top of the abdomen, which is usually mostly covered with a white triangle.
Do you have any idea what this spider is called other than orb weaver?
Thanks a lot. And by the way, your spider pictures are wonderful, indeed, they are better than some of the university sites I looked at trying to find this spider...
