Argiope argentata (silver garden spider) ranges from the southern United States through Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and much of South America. Females are substantially larger and more conspicuous than males, with a reflective silver cephalothorax, a lobed abdomen marked in silver, yellow, black, and brown, and paired legs that are often held together in an X-shaped posture at the center of the web. The species builds a nearly vertical orb web in open vegetation and may add a dense white silk decoration called a stabilimentum.

Flying insects caught in the web are bitten, wrapped in silk, and consumed after digestive enzymes liquefy their tissues. The spider may vibrate the web when disturbed, making its body and silk difficult for a potential predator to track. Females produce silken egg sacs and guard them near the web for part of their development. Photographed in Colombia.