Yellow Garden Spider Argiope aurantia

If you've seen a spider that looks like it's wearing bold yellow-and-black tiger stripes, you've met one of the most recognizable spiders in North America. But here's the wild part: the zigzag patterns on their webs gave them the nickname "writing spider" because early naturalists thought the pattern looked like script. They're not aggressive at all—their bite is roughly as intense as a bumblebee sting and harmless to most people.

The size difference between males and females is dramatic. Females can grow to nearly an inch long, while males are just a few millimeters—tiny compared to their mates. These spiders appear across the contiguous U.S., Hawaii, and into Central America, making them a common summer sight in gardens.