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Project Noah Nature School
Argiope appensa
This tiny gray spider's body was perhaps 0.5 cm. It was suspended in its web, awaiting prey in an x-position.
This spider constructed a web across an epiphytic skeleton fork fern. It was spotted in a tropical area. A. appensa is not native to Hawaii, although it occurs on several Western Pacific islands.
This is probably a male. Brown males may reach only 2 cm in length, while females are more striking in coloration and may reach 7 cm in body length.
Spotted on Jan 1, 2013
Submitted on Mar 14, 2013
6 Comments
Let's go with A. appensa. I am still not certain if it's a true match, but there is a resemblance, at least, more so than with A. trifasciata. Thank you, DanielWhitlock.
Not sure about on the islands, but the Argiopes that I've seen here don't always weave the stabilimentum.
mauna, I have a comparison shot between adolescent and adult female A. trifasciata on my page...
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/...
I would compare yours with adult A. appensa.
I'm curious to see what you two come up with.
JohnD, it looks like you read my mind; I was about to say that I didn't notice a zigzag in the web either. I appreciate that you'll try to look into this. Fun!
DanielWhitlock, this may be a young female, but I'm not sure. I'll compare my spotting to A. Trifasciata to see, for starters.
I was thinking this was an argiope as well. I'm wondering though, could this simply be a young female? The young A. trifasciata here in Michigan look quite different from the adults, but they often perch in the same position on similar webbing.
Is there usually such pronounced sexual dimorphism in Argiopes? I didn't know.
Alright, JohnD! I was also thinking along those lines, but wasn't sure. Thanks for confirming that. I'll add Argiope sp. to the description. :)