Charlotte's Progeny

Last winter, I lamented the demise of my Cat Face Spider (Araneus gemmoides) when a hard freeze arrived.

My Cat Face Spider last October
http://theuniversesmiles.blogspot.com/2009_10_01_archive.html

But, like Charlotte in Charlotte's Web http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte's_Web, her baby spiderlings hatched last Spring and a couple of the surviving spiders have been spinning webs and getting fat.  Here is one of them this August.

In another month, her distinctive "cat-face" markings and abdomenal protrusions that form the "cat ears" will be totally recognizable.

These spiders are very beneficial to the garden: http://entomology.wsu.edu/insectoftheweek/CatFaceSpider.html 

Here is a video of a cat-faced spider wrapping a grass hopper up to dine on later: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8VC0s2kDHM