Where Did All the Spiders Go?

Remember in August I found a couple of argiope spiders in the garden?  They were the yellow and black ones which make the large webs with a zigzag pattern running down the middle.

Yes, that's the one!
There was actually a second one just behind it but not visible in this photo.










Well yesterday I went looking for them and found four of these :-

I came back into the house and Googled "argiope spiders" to see if they hibernated, and if so, were they inside here.  It turns out that these are egg sacs - can you imagine the work those spiders had to make these? and then lay eggs in them?  Amazing creatures.  If I hadn't known that the spiders had been there in the first place I would have assumed they were seed pods from a plant.

I seem to be developing a fascination for spiders and their webs, mainly since I got my new camera and can take fairly close-up shots, but I don't really like them in the house, especially when I hoover away the cobwebs one day and find they're back again the next. They're OK out in the garden though.