found a large spider in garden, catches grasshopper on sticky web and cacoons them can you identify? help?

Question

I live in b.c. canada, the spider has zigzag black stripes on yellow back, two frontlegs,one set has claws.the body is aprox. 2 inches long. the legs aprox. 2 inches long

thank you _Abalone girl _for the photo's, but it is not the garden spider. It has zigzag black stripes across back on top of yellow with claw like feet on two front legs. the web is very sticky to touch and strong, almost the same thickness as thread. So far, I have not found anything close to it through the internet. any idea's where to search?

Answer 1

Common Garden Spider - argiope aurantia

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leafy/223660713/

Answer 2

take a picture of it and send it off to

http://www.whatsthatbug.com/

or check the spider pics on their site..... if it's big enuff to take down a grasshopper of any size, it sounds to me like an Orb ... and if the web has the characteristic 'zipper' down the middle and the spider sits there waiting....that's an Orb...but ask those folks... they'll know for sure.....the thing is, there's so many different colorations and patterns in the Orbs... like, this one has the claws you speak of, but the pattern isn't even close...

http://www.sdnhm.org/fieldguide/inverts/argi-aur.html