Beware - Spider

BEWARE: SPIDER! 

For those that are weak hearted...keen to stay away from spiders...you might not want to look at what follows!

Hubby and I were outside, puttering around the yard (I was, he was actually doing a bit of work).  I was out front of the house and he was out by the barn.  He comes around the house and tells me to get my camera and while I'm at, his too.  I was too excited, thinking he had found something really cool to photograph.  He didn't warn me in any way, instead he took me out to the barn and said "Look at that" pointing towards the door of the shed.  At first I didn't see it and said..."What the weeds, flowers..."  No that..and he pointed me towards it.  And then I saw it.  The largest, most beautiful spider I had ever seen face to face.   Of course, when I saw it,  I was shocked with fear but then the awe set in and I knew we had to get some good pictures of it to share.  We got our cameras out and started snapping away.  

I have no idea what kind of spider this is, but it's huge.  At least to me, Hubby says it was only about 3" from tip to tip. 

The spider has really beautiful markings, and he's still there today.  Must of found a good place to hunt.

I checked the internet for information, the only spider I found close to this one was the Crab Spider which is found in Oklahoma.  I'll continue to do some research and if I find out what it is I'll update.  UPDATE:  Thanks to my fellow Gather's they have pointed me in the right direction and I found the official name of this colorful guy.  At least I hope it's the male because the info I found says the male is larger then the female!

Argiope species, especially A. aurantia, are more commonly known as writing spiders, due to the unique patterns that they build in their webs