I have never seen a spider like this before, but this morning it was on one door of my car. It positively glowed!

Any help IDing would be great!

My guess would be that it is Araneus cingulatus. If so, it is believed to be non-toxic to people but it is known to attempt to eat its partner after mating. http://askanaturalist.com/what... has more info on this spider.

There is a photo of A. cingularis that looks very similar to your spider here: http://bugguide.net/node/view/...

I hope this helps

Old Gardener, I believe you're spot on! Is it unusual? Have I had a very special visitor? As I said, I've never seen one like this.
Maybe it's just so well camouflaged in grass and shrubs.

Thank you very much.

Angie

Hi Angie,

I apologize for not responding sooner but I have had a very difficult time learning more about your spider. All I have found is that it lives primarily along the Eastern half of the US from West Virginia down but there really doesn't seem to be a lot more known about this guy. I would say, though, that you have a very special guest indeed. His/her coloration is spectacular!

Hey, y'all! Thanks for responding, OG. The coloring is what caught my eye or I would have probably missed it entirely. I feel blessed indeed when I get
a special visitor. Haven't seen any praying mantises yet, although we saw several egg cases in our shrubbery, so I keep hoping.