Argiope appensa

Argiope appensa
On Hawai'i
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Araneidae
Genus:	Argiope
Species:	A. appensa
Binomial name
Argiope appensa (Walckenaer, 1841)[1]
Synonyms[1]
Epeira appensa Walckenaer, 1841 Epeira crenulata Doleschall, 1857 Argiope chrysorrhoea L. Koch, 1871 Argiope crenulata (Doleschall, 1857) Coganargiope reticulata Kishida, 1936 Argiope schoenigi Marapao, 1965

Argiope appensa is a spider that occurs on several islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has been introduced to Hawaii, and is found from Taiwan to New Guinea. It inhabits a wide variety of habitats, from coasts to forests.

Description

The strikingly black and yellow females are 5.1–6.4 cm (2–2.5 in) long, including legs, while the brown males reach only about 1.9 cm (0.75 in).^[2]

In Hawaii they are referred to as Hawaiian garden spiders.^[3] In Hawaii, they are known to be quite communal (see picture), with multi-generational specimens living within close quarters, using the same anchor lines for separate webs.

On Guam, where Argipoe appensa is ubiquitous, it is frequently visited by Argyrodes argentatus. Locals there refer to them as banana spiders. Following the introduction of the brown tree snake and the subsequent extinction or near-extinction of many of the island's small birds, spider populations on Guam exploded in response to decreasing predation and competition. Nature writer David Quammen has called Argiope appensa "almost certainly one of the larger species" which were encountered in vast numbers during his research trip to Guam for the book The Song of the Dodo.

Gallery

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  Community of multi-generational Argiope appensa on the Big Island of Hawaii

• 

  Mature female being handled in Hilo, Hawaii

• 

  Mature female (ventral view) and male (dorsal)

• 

  Side view of female

• 

  Female in Kuaui Jungle, Hawaii

References

1. "Taxon details Argiope appensa (Walckenaer, 1841)", World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern, retrieved 2016-05-07
2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 21, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2006.
3. Argiope apensa at BugGuide.net

• Walckenaer, C. A. (1842): Histoire naturelle des Insects. Aptères. Paris, 2: 1-549.
• Kerr, A. M. (1993): Unusually low frequency of stabilimenta in webs of Argiope appensa (Araneae: Araneidae) from the Mariana Islands: an indirect effect of an introduced avian predator? Pacific Science 47: 328-337. Abstract
• Kerr, A. M. (2005): Behavior of web-invading spiders Argyrodes argentatus (Theridiidae) in Argiope appensa (Araneidae) host webs in Guam. Journal of Arachnology 33(1): Abstract PDF

External links