Signature Spider Stabilimentum

Description:

This is a female Argiope luzona. If you look closely, you can just see a small prey item, wrapped in silk, in its mouth. Its web decoration is known as a Stabilimentum (the Latin word for a "support"). Wikipedia states that " Its function is a subject of debate". In modern thinking, the stabilimentum (which is known to reflect ultra-violet light) might be used to attract prey to the web or, possibly, to make the web more visible to larger animals so that they can avoid crashing into it. This particular type of Stabilimentum is called a "Three-armed Discontinuous Cruciate Stabilimentum".

Habitat:

This Argiope luzona was spotted on a Blushing Philodendron climbing plant (Philodendron erubescens) growing on the trunk of a mango tree.

Notes:

The nomenclature which I am using, for the various Stabilimenta shown in this series of spottings, comes from a scientific paper written by a leading group of Philippine academics. https://www.researchgate.net/publication......