What is this spider?

[Venus]

I've got the neatest spider hanging out on my porch but I can't for the life of me figure out what she is. She looks like a tiny crab in a way. At first I thought there was a large seed pod stuck in the center of the web but when I looked closer I noticed the legs and crab-like shape. Her 'shell' is bright yellow with brown spikes sticking off one end. And the web itself is striped. I tried like hell to take a picture but my camera kept insisting on focussing on the tress and house in the background insted of on the spider so all i get is a bright yellow fuzz.

I named her Shelly.

[musicgeek]

After Googling some keywords from your post, I'll go out on a limb and guess that it's a "Yellow Crab Spider."

I found one with "brown spikes," apparently native to Costa Rica:

http://www.montezumabeach.com/images...der-yellow.jpg

Does it look anything like that? If so, be careful - apparently the bite is nasty.

There are apparently many varieties of yellow crab spiders, several native to N. America. Try a Google Image search and see if you find yours.

[TallGeekyGirl]

With the spines, it sounds like it might be a type of Micrathena.

http://www.whatsthatbug.com/?s=Micrathena

Is the web an orb web or irregular?

[SatansHobbit]

I'm know it isn't, wrong continent and all that, but your description sounds awfully like our Christmas Spider.

[Roadie]

Originally Posted by SatansHobbit

I'm know it isn't, wrong continent and all that, but your description sounds awfully like our Christmas Spider.

That is stunningly beautiful!

[Venus]

Originally Posted by SatansHobbit

I'm know it isn't, wrong continent and all that, but your description sounds awfully like our Christmas Spider.

Um, wow. That DOES look and act a lot like what I've got in my yard right now. It sits in the middle of the web, has that stripey web pattern. The only real difference was that was kinda a white spider in the pic shown and mine is bright bright yellow.

Edit: Tomorrow morning I'll go outside and draw it since i can't get a picture.

[ganzfeld]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasteracantha_cancriformis

[Venus]

THAT'S IT!! Thanks Ganzfeld, that has to be it.

[purpleiguana]

Even tho it doesn't really look much the same, that makes me think of a spider that I only saw two of while living in Southern California... its leg span was a little bigger than a quarter, and it was mostly red, but it was kinda splotched with another color, and it had spike-like things all over it. It was the spikes that kinda creeped me out. But, IIRC, it was normally spider-proportioned. It didn't have a huge abdomen like your spider. And had spikes on its legs, too, not just abdomen.

[LizzyBean]

Originally Posted by Venus

THAT'S IT!! Thanks Ganzfeld, that has to be it.

That has got to be one of the coolest spiders I have ever seen. I didn't even know they could look like that!