This is an egg sac belonging to a Black-and-Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia).
The female builds her sac and lays her eggs in the fall. She dies soon after. The babies hatch in the fall, but stay in the sac through the winter. They emerge in spring.
I noticed this egg sac in a blackberry patch. I am amazed at the way the spider wove the leaves to protect her egg sac!
I feel the same way. I have that one of these I am watching...it is hung on the outside of our bedroom window. I see it when I arrive home and pull into the garage. I would like to SEE them come out.
@cjwhite well, if you will recall, last year, I brought home a chain of Venusta Orchard spider egg sacs. But I left that container on the back deck. I put coffee filter rubberbanded on the mouth of the jar ...so it would be getting them air but hold them in if they hatched. And I kept them outside so they would emerge at the right time, when it is warm out for real. Otherwise, you'd have to keep them. Yick. haha I could go take the sack down adn do the same thing....
@cjwhite I hate to mess them up or someting. My last ones hatched and seemed to do fine in the Hosta. Some flew off on a string. I hate to mess these up though...I want some big beautiful garden spiders this summer
