Scientific Name
Argiope trifasciata
Common Name
Banded Argiope
Other Names
Banded Garden Spider, Banded Garden Orbweaver, Banded Orbweaver
Explanation of Names
- Author: Petrus Forskål. First year published: 1775.
- Pronunciation: Ar-GUY-oh-pee try-FASS-see-ay-tuh
- Meaning: Argiope is Latin for “with bright face”; trifasciata is Latin for “three-banded.”
Appearance
- Size: Body length of mature female 10-26 mm; male 4-6 mm.
- Color: Top of abdomen variable from silver to white with transverse bands of black, brown, and/or yellow. Trident mark frequently evident as well, the “tines” pointing to the hind end of the abdomen; underside of abdomen mottled black or brown with two parallel, vertical yellow stripes; carapace silver; legs strongly banded with black and yellow.
- Eyes: Eye arrangement typical of orb weavers. Total of eight eyes.
- Legs: Legs long; first two pairs of legs directed forward at rest in web, hind two pairs directed backwards.
- Body: Abdomen oval, distinctly pointed toward rear.
Range
Found throughout most of the United States (including Hawaii) and southern Canada; also the warmer regions of the entire globe, but absent from Europe and Japan and other places where Argiope bruennichi is found.
Habitat
Prefers open fields, prairies, and more arid habitats than other Argiope species.
Web
Large, vertical, orb-shaped web is usually built close to the ground amid tangled grasses, weeds, and other vegetation. The main orb made by adult spiders can be 2 feet across or more. Web may be decorated with a loose, zigzag band of silk called a stabilimentum. Spider occupies hub (center) of web, hanging head down. The web is usually eaten and rebuilt every day, with the exceptions of the periods around molting and egg laying.
Active in
Daytime (diurnal).
Season
Males mature in July to mid-September, and females mature from August to late autumn. Maturity can be reached somewhat earlier in warm regions.
Food
Prey is insects that jump or fly and are intercepted by the web.
Life Cycle
An annual species, males die not too long after mating and females die off when the first frost hits. Egg sacs are laid by female in autumn. Egg sac is about 10-18mm in length and shaped like a kettledrum, flat on one surface and rounded on the other; covered in tough, brown, papery silk and suspended amid tangled vegetation at periphery of web. Females can lay more than one egg sac, sometimes three or four. Each sac can contain almost 1,000 yellowish eggs. Spiders ‘hatch’ from their eggs mid-winter but do not emerge from the safety of the egg sac until the following spring.
