I learned from another neighbor that the widowed owner of this had himself fallen ill and moved out, so I suppose he didn't notice. However, the lady across the street thought it dangerous and asked my next-door neighbor to kill them. He declined, but I suspect she may have talked someone into killing them after all -- Either that or the below-zero temperatures that occurred not too long before the picture was taken.

I have seen combs hanging off rock overhangs and tree limbs in Arizona, but seeing it here in the frigid MIdwest was a real surprise to me, too.

I hope to get better at taking spider pictures for you to ply your trade on, Mandy.

I love IDing spiders...the more, the merrier! I am also actually a big fan of ants as well. I can't ID them or anything, I am just amazed and bewildered by their chemical language. It's amazing. Just the other day, I was playing with two carpenter ants (which I will post later for an ID), one major and one minor worker I guess (based on what I read on the internet). I found them in two completely different places and when I put them together in one cup, the major worker immediately began regurgitating for the minor worker! I couldn't believe it! It was literally a fraction of a second, that's all it took! Does that mean they 'smelled' each other (i.e. chemically)? The major continued to feed the minor for a long time (I video taped it for a few minutes), and then I separated them. I came back later and the minor had died! Being so curious about these little guys, I put the dead one back in with the live major... and it waved its big elbowed antennae and walked right to the dead one and started doing a 'preening' type motion to it (using its antennae). It then dragged it around for a while. I am assuming that in a full colony, they would have an area that they take the dead to? ...and this one couldn't find any chemical trails so it just kept walking in circles.

Yep, when it comes to spiders and bugs, I can really blab! My family thinks I'm insane, so I occasionally have to share what I see with someone in order to prevent an implosion! Lol! And you are the ant man, so this story only seemed fitting. :)

I'd say you interpreted the behaviors correctly, Mandy.

DON'T curb your enthusiasm!

...my enthusiasm shall not falter!! :)