Signature Spider (male)

Description:

This is a full grown male Signature Spider (Argiope luzona) it was spotted on the same day, at the same time and on the same climbing plant as the spider shown in my spotting https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/29...... It is possible that these two spiders could be siblings. So, all of the information given in that spotting, applies equally here:- This full grown male is very much smaller than an adult female. It also lacks the fancy colours and stripes of the female. So, until quite recently, if I saw a male and female Argiope luzona in close proximity, I had no idea that they were of the same species. However, this great sexual dimorphism is not the only problem that beginners, like me, encounter with A. luzona (and other Argiope species). When these spiders are very young juveniles, it is difficult to recognise their gender because in the early stages of their development, the males and females look almost identical. However, after the last moult the cephalothorax of the the male quite suddenly grows much bigger, in relation to the size of its abdomen. That immediately differentiates the males from the females which always have a much smaller cephalothorax (in relation to the size of the abdomen). There is one other reliable identifier for males (at an even earlier stage), that is the pedipalps. Even in very young males, they are quite enormous, a dead give-away that you are looking at a male, but only if you are lucky enough to see them. They are usually tucked away underneath.

Habitat:

This male Signature Spider was spotted in the front yard of the rice mill, on its web attached to the leaf of a Blushing Philodendron (Philodendron erubescens). This is a climbing plant which has grown around the trunk of a Mango Tree, from the ground all the way up to the canopy. This Mango Tree and its climbing plant have been a great attraction for Argiope luzona spiders for many years. There are almost always one or two of these spiders living there. The juveniles tend to make their webs on the upper surfaces of the leaves and the adults always suspend their webs between the stems of the leaves.

Notes:

These spiders often create a Stabilimentum (web decoration). The decoration of the spider shown here is called a "Discoid Stabilimentum".