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Project Noah Nature School
Argiope luzona
Argiope luzona (Walckenaer, 1842). I was looking around, in all the places where I can usually find Signature Spiders and I came across this one. I was very pleased to see it because at this time of year there are not many around and I was anxious to make a start with my latest project. My intention was to select a good target spider (I wanted an Argiope luzona, subadult female which had already made a discoid web decoration in a good position for picture taking - not too much to ask:-). My project was to observe it during the hours of darkness and try to capture in pictures, step by step, the procedure it carries out when it disassembles its old stabilimentum and web and replaces them with new ones. These wonderful creatures do this every night and I really want to get the pictures. Continued in Notes below.
Spotted this spider on its web, deep inside a hedge in the front yard of the rice mill.
The spider shown above pretty much fitted my list of requirements. The only part that was not quite what I wanted was its position - rather too deep inside the hedge. As you can see, I did manage to take one picture. I was able to stick my camera into the foliage and pushed twigs and leaves out of the way to get a clear view. That was fine in broad daylight, but I was not so sure how I would get on after dark - I didn't fancy a friendly little nip on the nose from a little tree snake in the dark. However, I did not find a better target spider and went ahead with my preparations for a night session. The first thing I did was to tie a small yellow ribbon onto a twig, about two feet below the spider to make it easy to find in the dark. You can imagine my disappointment when I returned in the evening, all braced for a long observation and photo session and saw nothing, but some tiny traces of silk where the web had been - and, of course, no spider. That indicated only one thing, a predatory attack. Some hungry creature had eaten my spider. Nature is wonderfully interesting and sometimes breath-takingly beautiful, but it can also be brutal.
Spotted on May 23, 2023
Submitted on May 30, 2023
2 Comments
I think you are probably right, Tom. I have had several failures, like this one, in the last couple of weeks, but just a few months ago, Nov., Dec. and January, I was taking pictures of several specimens, day after day, noticing the different patterns of weaving in their discoids. At that time, I did not know anything about their night-time activities. So, I was not planning any detailed observations and, as a result, was not affected by losing some to predation. It has really only come to my attention because it is upsetting my plans. Anyway, I think the young ones on discoids are appearing with greater frequency again. So, I should be having some success soon. Thanks for your comments, they always get me looking at things from another angle.
I'm seeing juvenile Argiope aurantia everywhere I rarely see them for more than a day or two. I've been thinking predation must be heavy on these spiders.