Argiope Spider

Appearance

As most orb weavers, they own a third claw which is used to weave their complex webs. As most spiders, there is also a significant amount of sexual dimorphism, females measuring 19 to 28mm and males measuring 5 to 9mm. Their webs are relatively big, usually with zigzag patterns in them. They own black and yellow patterning all around their body, occasionally on their legs. Their legs mainly being black, with red or yellow patterning closer to the body. Their cephalothorax is covered with short silver hairs, and they own an egg shape abdomen.

Naming

''Argiope bruennichi'' is commonly known as the wasp spider. In Australia, ''Argiope keyserlingi'' and ''Argiope aetherea'' are known as St Andrew's cross spiders, for their habit of resting in the web with paired legs outstretched in the shape of an X and mirroring the large white web decoration . This white zigzag in the centre of its web is called the ''stabilimentum'' or web decoration.

In North America, ''Argiope aurantia'' is commonly known as the black and yellow garden spider, zipper spider, corn spider, or writing spider, because of the similarity of the web stabilimenta to writing.

The East Asian species ''Argiope amoena'' is known in Japan as ''kogane-gumo''. In the Philippines, they are known as ''gagambang ekis'' , and ''gagambang pari'' .As of April 2019, ''Argiope'' contains 88 species:

⤷ ''A. abramovi'' Logunov & Jäger, 2015 – Vietnam
⤷ ''A. aemula'' – India to Philippines, Indonesia , Vanuatu
⤷ ''A. aetherea'' – China to Australia
⤷ ''A. aetheroides'' Yin, Wang, Zhang, Peng & Chen, 1989 – China, Japan
⤷ ''A. ahngeri'' Spassky, 1932 – Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan?
⤷ ''A. amoena'' L. Koch, 1878 – China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan
⤷ ''A. anasuja'' Thorell, 1887 – Seychelles to India, Pakistan, Maldives
⤷ ''A. anomalopalpis'' Bjørn, 1997 – Congo, South Africa
⤷ ''A. appensa'' – Hawaii, Taiwan to New Guinea
⤷ ''A. argentata'' – USA to Chile, Argentina
⤷ ''A. aurantia'' Lucas, 1833 – Canada to Costa Rica
⤷ ''A. aurocincta'' Pocock, 1898 – Central, East, Southern Africa
⤷ ''A. australis'' – Central, East, Southern Africa, Cape Verde Is.
⤷ ''A. bivittigera'' Strand, 1911 – Indonesia
⤷ ''A. blanda'' O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1898 – USA to Costa Rica
⤷ ''A. boesenbergi'' Levi, 1983 – China, Korea, Japan
⤷ ''A. bougainvilla'' – New Guinea to Solomon Is.
⤷ ''A. bruennichi'' – Europe, Turkey, Israel, Russia , Iran, Central Asia to China, Korea, Japan
⤷ ''A. brunnescentia'' Strand, 1911 – New Guinea, Papua New Guinea
⤷ ''A. buehleri'' Schenkel, 1944 – Timor
⤷ ''A. bullocki'' Rainbow, 1908 – Australia
⤷ ''A. butchko'' LeQuier & Agnarsson, 2016 – Cuba
⤷ ''A. caesarea'' Thorell, 1897 – India, Myanmar, China
⤷ ''A. caledonia'' Levi, 1983 – New Caledonia, Vanuatu
⤷ ''A. cameloides'' Zhu & Song, 1994 – China
⤷ ''A. carvalhoi'' – Brazil
⤷ ''A. catenulata'' – India to Philippines, New Guinea, Australia
⤷ ''A. chloreis'' Thorell, 1877 – Laos, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea
⤷ ''A. comorica'' Bjørn, 1997 – Comoros, Mayotte
⤷ ''A. coquereli'' – Tanzania , Madagascar
⤷ ''A. dang'' Jäger & Praxaysombath, 2009 – Thailand, Laos
⤷ ''A. dietrichae'' Levi, 1983 – Australia
⤷ ''A. doboensis'' Strand, 1911 – Indonesia, New Guinea
⤷ ''A. doleschalli'' Thorell, 1873 – Indonesia
⤷ ''A. ericae'' Levi, 2004 – Brazil, Argentina
⤷ ''A. flavipalpis'' – Africa, Yemen
⤷ ''A. florida'' Chamberlin & Ivie, 1944 – USA
⤷ ''A. halmaherensis'' Strand, 1907 – Indonesia to New Guinea
⤷ ''A. hinderlichi'' Jäger, 2012 – Laos
⤷ ''A. hoiseni'' Tan, 2018 – Malaysia
⤷ ''A. intricata'' Simon, 1877 – Philippines
⤷ ''A. jinghongensis'' Yin, Peng & Wang, 1994 – China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand
⤷ ''A. kaingang'' Corronca & Rodríguez-Artigas, 2015 – Argentina
⤷ ''A. katherina'' Levi, 1983 – Northern Australia
⤷ ''A. keyserlingi'' Karsch, 1878 – Australia
⤷ ''A. kochi'' Levi, 1983 – Australia
⤷ ''A. legionis'' Motta & Levi, 2009 – Brazil
⤷ ''A. levii'' Bjørn, 1997 – South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania
⤷ ''A. lobata'' – Southern Europe to Central Asia and China, northern Africa, South Africa, Israel, India, from Myanmar to New Caledonia and northern Australia
⤷ ''A. luzona'' – Philippines
⤷ ''A. macrochoera'' Thorell, 1891 – India , China
⤷ ''A. madang'' Levi, 1984 – New Guinea
⤷ ''A. magnifica'' L. Koch, 1871 – Australia to Solomon Is.
⤷ ''A. mangal'' Koh, 1991 – Singapore
⤷ ''A. manila'' Levi, 1983 – Philippines
⤷ ''A. mascordi'' Levi, 1983 – Australia
⤷ ''A. minuta'' Karsch, 1879 – Bangladesh, East Asia
⤷ ''A. modesta'' Thorell, 1881 – Borneo to Australia
⤷ ''A. niasensis'' Strand, 1907 – Indonesia
⤷ ''A. ocula'' Fox, 1938 – China, Taiwan, Japan
⤷ ''A. ocyaloides'' L. Koch, 1871 – Australia
⤷ ''A. pentagona'' L. Koch, 1871 – Fiji
⤷ ''A. perforata'' Schenkel, 1963 – China
⤷ ''A. picta'' L. Koch, 1871 – Indonesia to Australia
⤷ ''A. pictula'' Strand, 1911 – Indonesia
⤷ ''A. ponape'' Levi, 1983 – Caroline Is.
⤷ ''A. possoica'' Merian, 1911 – Indonesia
⤷ ''A. probata'' Rainbow, 1916 – Australia
⤷ ''A. protensa'' L. Koch, 1872 – New Guinea, Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand
⤷ ''A. pulchella'' Thorell, 1881 – India to China and Indonesia
⤷ ''A. pulchelloides'' Yin, Wang, Zhang, Peng & Chen, 1989 – China
⤷ ''A. radon'' Levi, 1983 – Northern Australia
⤷ ''A. ranomafanensis'' Bjørn, 1997 – Madagascar
⤷ ''A. reinwardti'' – Malaysia to New Guinea
⤷ *''Argiope r. sumatrana'' – Indonesia
⤷ ''A. sapoa'' Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
⤷ ''A. sector'' – North Africa, Middle East, Cape Verde Is.
⤷ ''A. squallica'' Strand, 1915 – New Guinea
⤷ ''A. submaronica'' Strand, 1916 – Mexico to Bolivia, Brazil
⤷ ''A. takum'' Chrysanthus, 1971 – New Guinea
⤷ ''A. tapinolobata'' Bjørn, 1997 – Senegal, Namibia
⤷ ''A. taprobanica'' Thorell, 1887 – Sri Lanka
⤷ ''A. trifasciata'' – North, Central and South America. Introduced to Africa, Portugal to Israel, Iran, China, Japan, Australia , Pacific Is.
⤷ *''Argiope t. deserticola'' Simon, 1906 – Sudan
⤷ *''Argiope t. kauaiensis'' Simon, 1900 – Hawaii
⤷ ''A. truk'' Levi, 1983 – Caroline Is.
⤷ ''A. versicolor'' – China to Indonesia
⤷ ''A. vietnamensis'' Ono, 2010 – Vietnam

Reproduction

The male spider is much smaller than the female, and unassumingly marked. When it is time to mate, the male spins a companion web alongside the female's. After mating, the female lays her eggs, placing her egg sac into the web. The sac contains between 400 and 1400 eggs.

These eggs hatch in autumn, but the spiderlings overwinter in the sac and emerge during the spring. The egg sac is composed of multiple layers of silk and protects its contents from damage; however, many species of insects have been observed to parasitise the egg sacs.