Signature Spider

Description:

Argiope luzona (Walckenaer, 1842). This is a young female Signature Spider (Argiope luzona). There is nothing out of the ordinary going on in this picture. When it was taken at around 4:00 p.m. the spider was motionless, but vigilant, waiting for some unfortunate insect to fly into the web. However, sometime during the previous night, this little spider created a perfect example of a web decoration which is called a Four-armed Discontinuous Cruciate Stabilimentum. The arms are almost all the same length (remember spiders don't have any rulers or measuring tapes) and they are all pretty much at right angles to each other (spiders don't have protractors either). The zigzags are fairly uniform, definately better than most people could do with a pencil and paper. So, the whole thing, at least in my opinion, demonstrates considerable intelligence, excellent memory, a great deal of skill and a strong sense of purpose. Not bad for such a small creature.

Habitat:

This spider was spotted in the front yard of the rice mill. Its web was moored on the stems of a Blushing Philodendron (Philodendron erubescens), a climbing plant, growing on the trunk of a Mango Tree.

Notes:

Please excuse the poor quality of my photo. I spotted this spider when I did not have my camera with me. So, I took a photo with the camera of my new phone, which I have not yet learned how to use.