Anyone who's been looking at my submissions knows how abysmal my record is at correct identification. This time, however, I feel certain what these spiders are, and what they're doing. They are Golden Orb Weavers, aka Black and Yellow Argiope - Argiope aurantia - males and female courting. I'm not asking for an ID (unless I'm wrong, again); I just thought I'd share something I saw.

The female's web had been working well for several days. I'd check her out at least twice daily, and she always had a new wrap or two somewhere on her web. Mostly, she'd catch honey bees and Virescent Metallic Green bees; on occasion a Leafcutting Bee, bumblebee, grasshopper, flies of all sorts . . . she was a good hunter, staked out at a busy intersection of blackberries and some pretty pink, volunteer flowers that look a bit like thistles, though lacking any spiked leaves I don't think they are. About two feet behind her lived another female Argiope that was even larger, by about 25%. This little lady was about 3/4 inch, perhaps a smudge bigger.

On my second visit this day, I discovered this one had company. (The company was completely ignoring, or avoiding, the larger female.) There were seven other spiders of similar appearance but much lesser size scrambling back and forth through her web, trying to get close to her. At first I thought she was trying to catch them (maybe she was), or they were trying to catch her, but after watching a bit, it looked more like she was chasing them away - just as confusing as the bar scenes I remember in my youth. For about twenty minutes I watched the courting ritual. Sometimes they'd all rush her, but mostly they'd take turns. I also noticed a few other males further into the tangle of flowers, apparently too timid to approach - yup, just like the bar scene. On one occasion, while she was chasing several males, one of the larger males moved around to the back of the web and positioned himself in the center. When the female came back and reclaimed her position in the web, he began tapping the tip of his abdomen into the web.

In this first image, you can plainly see the female and three of her suitors - one to the left of center, one to the front center and one to the right of center. In the lower right corner, all blurry, is a fourth male. Also blurry, in the background just above and to the left of the female is fifth male, and lastly, the leg of a sixth male is just about visible under the red runner on the upper right (I cropped out the rest of him).

Anyway, just wanted to share a few images of what I saw. Perhaps you can use the images in the guide - and I hope I'm not wrong with my ID, again.