"spider in a half shell"

[greenthumbnails]

Weird eh?  I walked right into the cobweb of this spider out in front.  This one was out back and avoided...

[miguynmkoi]

Sure wouldn't want to walk into that one!  But it's so cool!  Do you know what kind of spider it is?  I hate walking into webs and now must be high season for spiders to set up webs in the evenings.  I will not take the trash out at night right now for fear of walking into webs!  Ughhh!

[KatFish]

I loathe spiders, but that was cool!  Looks kind of like someone already smashed it 

[Sandye]

That's an exceedingly weird spider!    If it weren't for the web, I wouldn't even think it was a spider. 

Did you notice it has a "face" on it?  Very strange looking creature. 

[mascot]

check here: (Crablike Spiny Orbweaver Spider - Gasteracantha cancriformis)
http://bugguide.net/node/view/4777

[Esther]

Sometimes at night if I walk through a narrow space where there might be a web, I hold my arm up in front of my face because I can't stand the thought of a web hitting my face. Once as a preteen, I was evidently the first person to go down the narrow steps to the basement of our old church one Sunday morning. Needless to say, I'm almost 66 and can still clearly remember the horrible feeling of that web and feeling the spider scuttle across my skin.

[miguynmkoi]

Thank goodness they're not here.  Looks too weird.  Thanks for the name, Michael!

[Mikey]

I've never had the pleasure of seeing this kind of spider before.  Very interesting.  I didn't notice the face until I clicked on the link provided by Michael.  I wonder how that design plays into it catching prey or avoiding enemies?

[Ky Kim]

That is cool looking.  I hollared for my dh husband to come and see it, and he said it looks like it has a skull on the back.  That's wild looking.

Kim

[Julles]

Almost looks like a piece of jewelry.

[greenthumbnails]

Glad you guys thought it was cool too. 
Thanks for the id Blind 'Too, I was wondering what it was.  I also did not know it was a spider were it not for being in the web.  Like the article there is one out front that keeps spinning a web at my front entrance walkway.  That's the one that I walked into face first!  The one in the back was also a very large web about the diameter of a human torso, not the dinky little corner cobweb.  The backside of the spider looks like a spiny brown spur (like plant spurs that get stuck on the bottom of your pant legs). 

I'm glad its not poisonous.