The black-and-yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia) has been found in fields throughout Ohio, with a preference for moister sites than its close relative the banded garden spider (A. trifasciata). Like that species the black-and-yellow garden spider can be common at a particular location in some years, and absent in others. Also, they sometimes add “decorations” to their webs, consisting of zigzag bands of flocculent silk. There are many hypotheses for the function of these decorations, there is no consensus.
