Oval St. Andrew's Cross Spider (male & female)

Description:

This female Argiope aemula was spotted at around 3:00 p.m. yesterday, in a rice field when I was doing some "follow-ups" on some other others of the same species. They are so numerous this season, that I decided, a few days ago, to ignore any specimens which were not especially notable. At first glance, this one seemed to be just exactly that. I was about to move on when I saw the little male, a few inches above her. So, that was enough to get my attention and I took the pictures you see here. However, the female had no stabilimentum (web decorations are always of interest to me) and the courtship of these spiders can last for days. So, I soon moved on and will try to check back from time to time, just in case something of greater interest happens.

Habitat:

This female Argiope aemula and her potential mate were spotted in a rice field.