They are fairly plentiful here but no one ever sees them because they don't know where to look for em and they are tiny. They are usually found in wooded areas and down low ( roughly from the nose down ), in my experience.
They are extremely hard to spot because they are so small and you'll walk right thru them, destroying their webs, if you don't know what you're looking for. I'm betting you have them in your part of the country.
And thank you for the compliment Mr. Craig. Coming from someone with your experience......means a lot to me.
Taken from Wiki : The
orchard spider (
Leucauge venusta) is a
long-jawed orbweaver spider that occurs from southern
Canada to
Panama,
along the East coast, reaching into the central US. The web is often oriented horizontally, with the spider hanging down in the center.