This rather large and somewhat scary-looking spider we found in one of our flower beds is a yellow garden spider. Although they may look dangerous, even poisonous, they are mostly harmless to humans. The zig-zag pattern in the middle of the web is called a stabilimentum and there are several theories for its purpose. It may act as camouflage for the spider, luring insects into the web totally unaware that they’re flying into the waiting arms (or legs, rather) of the patient spider. The pattern has also shown to be very effective at preventing birds from flying into the web, which is highly beneficial for the spider because, let’s be honest, that looks like a lot of work!