Spiny Backed Orb Weaver

Gasteracantha cancriformis

Earlier in the week it was Spider Lillies, now it's an actual Spider. Another first for me, seeing one of these "smiley face" spiders in real life. This one is pretty small, maybe 1/4 inch in diameter. I almost missed the spider, but couldn't miss the beautiful web.

return of the spider lillies

Three spider lillies popped up and bloomed early last week. A few more appeared later in the week. A grand total of 6 or 7 plants this year; nothing like last year. Maybe it was the unusually wet weather we had in August this year.

the sphinx

The biggest moth I think I have ever seen was resting against the side of my house yesterday. It stayed there for several hours and was back again this morning. It is a Rustic Sphinx (Manduca rustica).

What is the Sphinx trying to tell me?