|
The number of emails we've had
from people in the United States trying to identify the
Black and Yellow Argiope or
St Andrew's Cross spider (as we call our
Australian variety) is quite astounding!! I've had a lot of questions about where the Argiopes are going to, as
some people have noticed that theirs has disappeared. Unfortunately this
lovely spider only has a short life span and once she has produced one
or more
(usually no more than 3) brown, papery egg sacs, she will die. The egg
sacs are roughly round in shape and up to 25 mm in diameter; each
contains 300 to 1400 eggs. She attaches her egg sacs to one side of her
web, close to her resting position at the centre. Each female will watch
over her eggs as long as she can, but will die in the first hard frost,
if not before. The eggs hatch in Autumn ( fall), but spiderlings stay in
the sac during winter and emerge in spring. (Milne and Milne 1980,Heiber
1992, Faulkner 1999). The St Andrew's Cross Spider
doesn't have dangerous venom. Its bite causes a mild local pain.
There are also other varieties of Argiopes - The
Banded Argiope and Silver
Argiope being two that have been sent in frequently. There are links
to photos of these and other argiopes below as well. |
| . |
20 November, 2011:
the first two were taken today. the last one was taken a while ago.
Thank you,
Carolyn |
 |
|
|
 |
| .. |
30 October, 2011:
spider on backyard , Riverdale GA
|
|
 |
 |
| .. |
|
25 October, 2011:
Identify my spider
|
 |
| .. |
22 October, 2011:
Hi, Glen,
Just found your site trying to find out what this spider is. Great site!
I browsed around a long time looking at the pictures & reading comments.
Who would have thought I would have enjoyed looking at spiders? I
usually go eeeewwwwwwwwwwww and run the other way!
Anyway, I would make a guess that this is a garden orb spider .. am I
correct?
I am guessing that the 3 round "balls" in the 2nd photo are it's nests?
.. how many critters hatch out of one of these "balls"?
Thanks!
Jeanie
|
|
|
 |
| .. |
9 October, 2011:
Here is a picture I took at the golf course at Scott Air
Force Base, which is 20 miles east of Saint Louis - Abbey R. |
|
|
 |
| .. |
|
Reply: This one is a black and yellow argiope, a bite
should not pose a problem unless employee was allergic to spider
bites - glen
9 October, 2011:
Hey glen I got a couple spiders I have found in upstate New York while working. If you could tell me what they are that would help our efforts to knowledge our employees of a possible bite.
|
 |
| .. |
|
Reply: This one is a black and yellow argiope - glen
9 October, 2011:
Taken in Greensboro, NC yesterday.
Thanks!
Glen
|
 |
| .. |
|
18 September, 2011:
Hi Glen,
Love the site, and have been referencing it for the last couple of months - I've always loved spiders, ever since I was introduced to wolf spiders at age 4 1/2! Have learned a lot since finding SpiderzRule.
I've attached 3 pics of an Argiope Aurantis (sp?), 1 of which is her egg sac. She's about 1 inch long not including legspan. I've only noticed her in this location (I live in SE Mass, USA) today, and this is the front of where I live, so I don't think she's been here long. I'm guessing she's only got a couple of weeks or so before our first hard frost.
Hopefully you can use these on your A. aurantis page. If you want the raw images, just let me know.
Best,
Dave P
|
|
|
 |
| .. |
|
Reply: This one is a black and yellow argiope - glen
18 September, 2011:
Hi, I live in Florida and have a spider I was hoping you could possibly identify for me. I just found it living in our backyard behind our pool. I want to make sure he is harmless. Thank you!
Nikki
|
 |
| .. |
|
Reply: This one is a black and yellow argiope - glen
17 September, 2011:
Can you tell me anything about this spider
|
 |
| .. |
|
17 September, 2011:
Just finished looking at your site Spiderzrule and loved it. My two favorite things are spiders and dragonflies. I now have 4 of the black and yellow argiope spiders(2 in the yard & 2 in the shed). I'm sending a few pics, but just wanted to let you know that in North Carolina, USA we call them Carolina or Southern Writing Spiders and they are believed to bring good luck to those who watch them and bad luck if you kill them. I have heard this for my entire life and am now in my 40's. The last pic is my favorite as it shows the beauty of the web.
Sincerely,
Renee'
|
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
| .. |
|
Reply: These are black and yellow argiopes too - glen
17 September, 2011:
i found these 2 outside making a web on the side of my house and wanted to know if they are dangerous since i have a 4 year old and a cat that are always outside.
|
|
 |
 |
| .. |
|
Reply: This one is a black and yellow argiope - glen
4 September, 2011:
Hello there!
I found this spider on my shed in Georgetown, Delaware, USA.
It was roughly 3" in diameter, short fuzz all over, and unflinching.
When I came back later, it was gone; I can only assume it caught a goat in its invisible web and took it home for a feast by the time I returned with my good camera. I'm hoping it was big enough that an iphone photo will be good enough for id.
Thanks for your help!
Randi
|
 |
| .. |
|
Reply: This one is a black and yellow argiope - glen
26 August, 2011:
There are also a couple pics of the top and bottom of an unidentified spider. I can send you high res photos if you would like them.
Thanks,
Pamela
Click for a larger view |
 |
| .. |
Reply: Yes it is a black and yellow argiope - glen
26 August, 2011:
Hi...
Do you know what type of spider this is? We are from MA. |
 |
| .. |
14 August, 2011:
Found this monster in the back yard of our Florida home. Internet searches have led me to believe its either a banana spider or an Argiope. The legs are black and brown and it's paired up with a much smaller version next to it. We live right behind a Spanish grocery store that stores it's trash less than 50 yards from our back yard. Any help would be greatly appreciated! |
 |
| .. |
|
Reply: Yes you are correct - glen
7 August, 2011:
Thanks anyway .... I think I've correctly identified the spider as a common black-and-yellow argiope. I'll try the picture again: |
 |
| .. |
|
Reply: This is a black and
yellow argiope - glen
24 July, 2011:
This was taken outside our pool cage in Port Charlotte Florida 7/23/2011....coolest spider and web I ever saw!
Trish |
 |
| .. |
|
Reply: This is a black and
yellow argiope and not dangerous. However, it's probably good
practice to avoid all spiders!! - glen
12 July, 2011:
Its in my backyard should we avoid this one |
 |
| .. |
|
Reply: This is a black and
yellow argiope - glen
12 July, 2011:
I checked out your spider web site but didn't find any information or a photo of the spider that I was looking for. I took a picture of a spider that is in my garden outside my front door. The attached file is the photo of the spider in my garden. I would appreciate it if you could tell me what kind of spider it is and any other info you have on it. Your site is really nice and very informative.
Thanks. Dale |
 |
| .. |
Click here for Page 2.
Click here for Page 3. Click here for Page
4. Click here for Page 5.
Click here for Page 6. Click here for Page
7.
Click here for Page 8. Click here
for Page 9.
Click here for Page 10.
Click here for Page 11. |
