Spider Frenzy

The area near our front door is spider heaven.  We generally leave them alone- it gives us something fun to look at every time we walk through the front door, and it keeps other insects away unless they want to become spider food.

The spider shown in the above photos lives on our front porch light.  It “hides” like this almost all of the time- probably waiting for an insect to get trapped in its web.  What kind is it?

I believe it is a type of “Orb Weaver”.  According to BugGuide:

Orb weavers are typically nocturnal. During the day, the spider will prefer to either sit motionless in the web or move off the web. If the spider moves off the web (but does not abandon it), she will be nearby in some cover (rolled up leaves, or on a branch) with a trap line nearby. If prey becomes ensnared in the web, the trap line will vibrate, indicating a possible meal. The spider will investigate; if it is “meal worthy”, she will bite it to immobilize it, and wrap it with silk to either eat later, or to continue to subdue the meal while eating. If the trapped insect is not meal worthy, she will ignore it or eject it from the web.  At night, the orb weaver will become more active, working to repair any damage on the web, and sitting in the middle of the web. For some species, once morning starts to arrive, the spider will tear down the web and eat most of the silk (reabsorption of moisture plus consuming any dew that might have settled on the web). They will rebuild their web at dusk/night.

A short distance away was this spider with an egg sac.  This is not an orb weaver- instead I believe it is a relative to the American House Spider.

And then there was this spider- I don’t remember ever seeing one quite like it.  What is it?

It looks to me like a MALE orb weaver spider.  Apparently, the males are rarely seen!  Take a look at this photo on BugGuide and judge for yourself.