Argiope Writing Spider ♀

Description:

Argiope catenulata (Doleschall, 1859). The genus Argiope Audouin, 1827, includes rather large and spectacular spiders that often have a strikingly colored abdomen. In the Philippines, it is known as gagambang ekis, which translates to X spider. Some regions call them gagambang pari, which translates to priest spider.

Habitat:

Backyard.

Notes:

Reference: http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Asia/I... http://www.senckenberg.de/files/content/... The genus Argiope is distributed worldwide with currently 85 valid species with a centre of its diversity in Southeast Asia including New Guinea and adjacent islands (44 spp.). From other regions distinctly fewer species are known: Australia: 15 spp., Africa: 11 spp., Americas: 8 spp., Europe: 3 spp. (synonyms of A. bruennichi and A. lobata), Central Asia 1 sp. Three further species have exceptionally large distribution ranges: A. trifasciata (Cosmopolitan), A. bruennichi (Palaearctic), and A. lobata (Old World) (Platnick 2011). Philippine species: 1) Argiope catenulata Doleschall, 1859 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argiope_cat... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Grass_... 2) Argiope appensa (Walckenaer, 1842) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argiope_app... http://www.tikboy.com/posts/argiope-appe... 3) Argiope manila Levi 1983 from Luzon 4) Argiope aemula (Walckenaer 1841) from Luzon - http://wongchunxing.com/Spider/Araneidae... 5) Argiope luzona (Walckenaer 1841) from Luzon