Banded Garden Spider
Argiope trifasciata
Arachnida
COMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- Up to 1 yr
- Size
- Medium
- Diet
- Insectivore
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Social
- Solitary
- Biome
- Temperate grassland
- Range
- Worldwide
- Movement
- Climbing
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Venom
- Status
- Common
About
The banded garden spider is a large orb-weaver named for the fine silvery bands across its abdomen, easily confused with its cousin the black-and-yellow garden spider. It often adds a zigzag silk stabilimentum to the center of its web, a structure whose exact purpose (prey lure, UV signal, or web reinforcement) is still debated by researchers.
Life cycle
- 1.egg sacA silk-wrapped egg sac shelters a clutch of eggs until the young are ready to emerge.
- 2.juvenileA spiderling emerges from the egg sac already in miniature adult form and starts catching prey almost immediately.
- 3.subadultA near-adult arachnid molts through several instars, growing larger and developing mature markings.
- 4.adultFully grown after its final molt.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Arachnida
- Order
- Araneae
- Family
- Araneidae
- Genus
- Argiope
- Species
- Argiope trifasciata