Signature Spider

Description:

Argiope luzona (Walckenaer,1841) is, perhaps, best known for its beautiful orb webs and striking web decorations. However, there are exceptions to every rule and neither the web, nor the decoration, shown here, measure up to the high standard we have come to ecpect of A. luzona. Pic #1. When I took this photo, today, I was thinking "Well, its not the best looking spider web, but it might be good enough to post on Project Noah, depending on how it looks when I see it on my laptop". When I did see it enlarged on the computer screen, I almost deleted it, but then I noticed something that I had not seen when taking the photo (explantion in Notes below). Pic #2. A detailed view of the upper left arm of the Stabilimentum - looks a bit scrappy. Pic #3. Upper right arm - very tidy. Pic #4. Lower right arm - another "scrappy" one. Pic #5. Lower left arm - fairly tidy, but not as good as the upper right. Pic #6. A dteail of a small section of the upper left quadrant of the web - a complete mess. So, what on earth is going on here? Please see Notes below.

Habitat:

This Signature Spider was spotted in our backyard. Its web was moored on foliage growing on a cyclone wire fence.

Notes:

As soon as I looked at Pic #1. on my computer screen, I knew immediately what was the cause of all of this "sub-standard" work. This fully mature, Argiope luzona, in the prime of her life, is heavily gravid (pregnant) and looks very much like she might lay her eggs tonight. I will be out there early tomorrow, looking for her egg sac. Of course, now that I know what the problem is, I feel rather guilty. This poor spider is carrying (according to Wikipadia) anything from 400 to 1,400 eggs and she still goes about business as usual, rebuilding her web every night. It is nothing short of miraculous.