Argiope versicolor
| Argiope versicolor | |
|---|---|
| |
| Female in Don Det, Si Phan Don, Laos | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Genus: | Argiope |
| Species: | A. versicolor
|
| Binomial name | |
| Argiope versicolor (Doleschall, 1859)
| |
| Synonyms[1][2] | |
|
Epeira versicolor Doleschall, 1859 | |
Argiope versicolor, the multi-coloured Saint Andrew's cross spider,[3][4] is a species of orb-weaver spider found mostly in Southeast Asia, from China to Indonesia.[5][1]
Description[edit]
Argiope versicolor is a colorful spider. The female's cephalothorax is covered by silvery hair. Its abdomen is pentagonal in shape with white, yellow, red, dark bands dorsally, and two longitudinal yellow stripes ventrally. The dark bands are dotted with white. The legs are orange with dark bands. She usually sits head down in the centre of the web, with legs held spread-eagle in an 'X' shape.[6]
The male is smaller and duller than the female, and brown and cream coloured.[7]
Biology[edit]
Like other members of the genus, females sometimes decorate their web with a zig-zag stabilimentum of white silk,[8] which varies in shape from discoid in juveniles to cruciform in mature females.[9] The stabilimentum may be association with predator-avoidance behaviours.[10]
Male webs are not decorated by zig-zag white bands.[7][9]
Gallery[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Argiope versicolor (Doleschall, 1859)". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum of Bern. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ^ Doleschall, L. (1859). "Tweede Bijdrage tot de kennis der Arachniden van den Indischen Archipel". Acta Societatis Scientiarum Indo-Neêrlandicae. 5: 1–60.
- ^ Ng, P. K. L.; Corlett, R.; Tan, H. T. W. (2011). Singapore biodiversity : an encyclopedia of the natural environment and sustainable development. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet in association with Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research. ISBN 9789814260084.
- ^ "Multi Coloured St Andrew's Cross Spider". Encyclopedia of Life.
- ^ Discover Life
- ^ Borneo's Tropical Eden: Sabah. Simply Green. 2004. p. 184. ISBN 9789810514129.
- ^ a b "Multi-Coloured St Andrew's Cross Spider". Science Centre Singapore. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ Seah, Wee Khee; Li, Daiqin (2002). "Stabilimentum variations in Argiope versicolor (Araneae: Araneidae) from Singapore". Journal of Zoology. 258 (4): 531–540. doi:10.1017/S0952836902001693.
- ^ a b Seah, Wee Khee; Li, Daiqin (2001). "Stabilimenta attract unwelcome predators to orb–webs". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences. 268 (1476): 1553–1558. doi:10.1098/rspb.2001.1709. PMC 1088777. PMID 11487401.
- ^ Li, Daiqin; Kok, Lai Mun; Seah, Wee Khee; Lim, Matthew L. M. (2003). "Age-dependent stabilimentum-associated predator avoidance behaviours in orb-weaving spiders". Behaviour. 140 (8/9): 39–41. JSTOR 4536081.