Yellow and Black Argiope

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Yellow and Black Argiope Beneficial Species Profile Photo credit: Erin Bauer, University of Nebraska. Common Name: Black and Yellow Argiope aka Golden Orb-weaver (California), Yellow Garden Spider, Yellow Garden Orbweaver, Writing Spider, and Zipper Spider Scientific Name: Argiope aurantia Order and Family: Order: Araneae Family: Araneidae Size and Appearance: Length (mm) Appearance Egg Egg sac: Between 300 and 1400 eggs are laid in brown, 25mm in diameter papery egg sacs made of silk and hung in the center of the female’s web. Immature Smaller than adults Immature Black and Yellow Argiopes generally resemble small adults; there are no major changes in anatomy or structure as they grow except for the eventual development of reproductive organs. Adult female: 14-28 mm The Black and Yellow Argiope has a shiny, black male: 5-9 mm egg-shaped abdomen with bright yellow or orange markings. The cephalothorax, forward (sizes do not include legs) part of the body, is covered with short, silvery hairs. Its legs are mostly black and have red or yellow markings. Like other orb-weavers in its family, the Black and Yellow Argiope has three claws per foot, one more than most spiders. Orb- weavers use this third claw to help handle the threads while spinning. The Black and Yellow Argiope also has a venomous bite that immobilizes prey that is caught in its web, but generally doesn’t harm humans. Webs made by a Black and Yellow Argiope will have a vertical zigzag band above and below the middle of the web. Type of feeder (Chewing, sucking, etc.): Piercing-Sucking Host/s: The Black and Yellow Argiope prefers to live in sunny areas among flowers, shrubs, and tall plants. It can be found in many types of habitats, including gardens and old fields, though is not common in the Rocky Mountains or the Canadian Great Basin. Description of Benefits (predator, parasitoid, pollinator, etc.): Like all spiders, Black and Yellow argiopes are predators. They spin an orb web to capture small flying insects such as aphids, flies, grasshoppers, wasps, and bees. References: Bartlett, T., & McLeod, R. (2004, February 16). Species Argiope aurantia - Black-and-Yellow Argiope. Retrieved April 06, 2016, from http://bugguide.net/node/view/2025 Hammond, G. (2002). Argiope aurantia. Retrieved April 06, 2016, from http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Argiope_aurantia/ .
Recommended publications
  • Apis Mellifera)
    Experimental and Applied Acarology https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-020-00525-y Electrotarsogram responses to synthetic odorants by Varroa destructor, a primary parasite of western honey bees (Apis mellifera) Michael Light1 · Dave Shutler1 · G. Christopher Cutler2 · N. Kirk Hillier1 Received: 21 September 2019 / Accepted: 8 July 2020 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 Abstract Olfaction is a key sensory modality for many arthropods and could be used as a tool in pest management through manipulation of pest behavior. Management of Varroa destructor, important parasitic mites of honey bees, could be improved through better understanding of the chemical ecology of this host-parasite relationship. We refned techniques of mount- ing mites to obtain electrophysiological recordings (electrotarsograms) of their responses to synthetic odor stimuli. Results of 271 electrotarsogram recordings from V. destructor revealed responses to 10 odorants relative to solvent controls. Electrotarsogram responses to methyl palmitate, ethyl palmitate, and 2-heptanol were highest at the lowest stimulus loading (10 ng) we tested, suggesting that V. destructor may have acute sensitivity to low concentrations of some odors. Results suggest that odorant origin (e.g., methyl oleate from honey bee larvae, geraniol from adult honey bee alarm pheromone, and α-terpineol, a plant secondary metabolite) can infuence the degree of electrophysiological response. Varroa destructor tended to be more responsive to known attractants and repellents relative to previously unexplored odorants and some repellent terpenes. Electrotarsograms ofer the potential for screening odors to determine their importance in V. destructor host detection. Keywords Acari · Apis mellifera · Electrophysiology · Electrotarsography · Semiochemicals Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https ://doi.org/10.1007/s1049 3-020-00525 -y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
    [Show full text]
  • Arthropods of Elm Fork Preserve
    Arthropods of Elm Fork Preserve Arthropods are characterized by having jointed limbs and exoskeletons. They include a diverse assortment of creatures: Insects, spiders, crustaceans (crayfish, crabs, pill bugs), centipedes and millipedes among others. Column Headings Scientific Name: The phenomenal diversity of arthropods, creates numerous difficulties in the determination of species. Positive identification is often achieved only by specialists using obscure monographs to ‘key out’ a species by examining microscopic differences in anatomy. For our purposes in this survey of the fauna, classification at a lower level of resolution still yields valuable information. For instance, knowing that ant lions belong to the Family, Myrmeleontidae, allows us to quickly look them up on the Internet and be confident we are not being fooled by a common name that may also apply to some other, unrelated something. With the Family name firmly in hand, we may explore the natural history of ant lions without needing to know exactly which species we are viewing. In some instances identification is only readily available at an even higher ranking such as Class. Millipedes are in the Class Diplopoda. There are many Orders (O) of millipedes and they are not easily differentiated so this entry is best left at the rank of Class. A great deal of taxonomic reorganization has been occurring lately with advances in DNA analysis pointing out underlying connections and differences that were previously unrealized. For this reason, all other rankings aside from Family, Genus and Species have been omitted from the interior of the tables since many of these ranks are in a state of flux.
    [Show full text]
  • Seasonal Abundance and Diversity O F Web-Building Spiders in Relation to Habita T Structure on Barro Colorado Island, Panama
    Lubin, Y . D. 1978 . Seasonal abundance and diversity of web-building spiders in relation to habita t structure on Barro Colorado Island, Panama . J. Arachnol. 6 :31-51 . SEASONAL ABUNDANCE AND DIVERSITY O F WEB-BUILDING SPIDERS IN RELATION TO HABITA T STRUCTURE ON BARRO COLORADO ISLAND, PANAMA Yael D . Lubin Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute P. O. Box 2072, Balboa, Canal Zone ABSTRAC T Web-building spiders were censused by a visual censuring method in tropical forest understory o n Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama Canal Zone. An overall trend of low numbers of spiders in th e late dry season and early wet season (March to May) was seen on all transects . The majority of th e species on the transects had wet season distribution patterns . Some species which occurred year-round on the forest transects had wet season distributions on a clearing-edge transect . A shortage of flyin g insect prey or dessication may have been responsible for the observed distributions . Species diversity and diversity of web types followed the overall seasonal pattern of spider abun- dance. The diversities of species and of web types were greatest on the forest transect with the highes t diversity of structural supports for spider webs . Web density, however, was greatest on the transect a t the edge of a small clearing . Faunal composition, diversity of web types, and seasonal patterns of distribution of spiders on th e BCI transects differed markedly from similar measures derived from censuses taken in a tropica l montane habitat in New Guinea . The differences were attributed in part to differences in the habitat s and in the evenness of the climate .
    [Show full text]
  • Viewed As the Optimal Group for Biological Control in All Systems
    CAN SPIDERS (ARGIOPE AURANTIA) INDIRECTLY AFFECT THE FITNESS OF ORANGE CONEFLOWERS (RUDBECKIA FULGIDA) BY LIMITING POLLINATOR VISITATION? A Thesis Presented to The Graduate Faculty of The University of Akron In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree Master of Science Andrew Wu August, 2012 CAN SPIDERS (ARGIOPE AURANTIA) INDIRECTLY AFFECT THE FITNESS OF ORANGE CONEFLOWERS (RUDBECKIA FULGIDA) BY LIMITING POLLINATOR VISITATION? Andrew Wu Thesis Approved: Accepted: _______________________________ _______________________________ Advisor Dean of the College Dr. Todd Blackledge Dr. Chand Midha _______________________________ _______________________________ Committee Member Dean of the Graduate School Dr. Randall Mitchell Dr. George Newkome _______________________________ _______________________________ Committee Member Date Dr. Greg Smith _______________________________ Department Chair Dr. Monte Turner ii ABSTRACT The purpose of this research was to test for potential antagonist-mediated effects of orb-web building spiders (Argiope aurantia) on the pollinator visitation rate due to the presence of an orb-web building spider on the visitation time of pollinating insects to the Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida). Orb-web building spiders have not been thoroughly studied in predator-pollinator-plant systems, and understanding their role may shed some light on the ecology of multi-species interactions. To test for indirect effects of orb-web building spiders on insect visitation to plants, a small-scale manipulative experiment was conducted at a 6x6m, off-road, grassy patch during August of 2007 about 30 meters northeast of the University of Akron Field Station at the Bath Nature Preserve (41° 10’53” N; 81° 39’05” W) in Bath, OH. Pollinator visitation to evenly spaced R. fulgida plants was recorded on 11 weather-permitting days during the hours of 0900 and 1600.
    [Show full text]
  • The Joro Spider, Nephila Clavata, in North Georgia
    Angela Harvey Braselton, Georgia, USA Miami University Ohio Global Field Program The Joro spider, Nephila clavata, in North Georgia Comparison of the locations and habitat of the introduced species, Nephila clavata, to the yellow and black garden spider, Argiope aurantia, and the banana spider, Nephila clavipes Mongolia, 2016 Abstract Invasive spiders can have negative effects on the economy, human health, and the environment. A new spider, the joro ( Nephil a clavata ) from Asia, has been discovered in the United States in northeast Georgia. Getting range and abundance information on a species is important to understanding the effects of the new species. This study compares locations of the joro ( N. clavata ) t o the locations of two other large orb - weaving spiders in the area, the black and yellow garden spider ( Argiope aurantia ) and the banana spider ( Nephila clavipes ). A citizen science approach was used as well as field observations of spiders found in the no rth east counties of the state. No sightings of the banana spider were found, but comparisons were made between habitats and locations of the joro and garden spiders. Habitat choice differed between the two species by sunlight, web support, and the presenc e of other spiders cohabiting with females. Spiders as Invasive Species Arthropod predators introduced into new environments can have lasting and unpredictable effects on native ecosystems. An introduced species is considered invasive if the new arthropod causes, or is likely to cause, harm to the environment, economy, or human health (Michigan Invasive Species, 2016). Invasive arthropod predators may cause direct harm to native predators by attacking and killing the competition or by competing fo r the same resources.
    [Show full text]
  • Red-Eared Slider Turtle
    RED-EARED SLIDER TURTLE Fun Fact: The large Red-Eared Slider Turtle population at Descanso Gardens ​ ​ ​ got its start in the 1980’s. The Los Angeles Zoo needed a place to put turtles when they cleaned their turtle pond. Many of the visiting turtles liked it so much at Descanso Gardens that they stayed! The easiest animal to see at Descanso Gardens is the Red-Eared Slider Turtle. Look for these turtles at the Lake, Mulberry Pond and other water features. Habitat The Red-Eared Slider is not native to Southern California, but can be found in every body of ​ ​ freshwater in Los Angeles County. They were often left there by pet owners. Red-Eared Sliders adapt very well to living in Southern California ponds and streams. They have taken over good turtle habitat. This has reduced the number of the native Western Pond Turtle. ​ ​ Turtles have special features that help them survive in their habitat: ● Webbed feet that are good for scooping to make nests for their eggs. ● A turtle’s mouth is called a beak. Red-Eared Sliders eat plants, tadpoles, fish, birds, snakes, and even other turtles. ● Turtles have gill-like structures that help them breathe underwater.Each scute grows to make the shell larger as the turtle grows. ● Turtles are cold-blooded. They need to bask in the sun for warmth. You will see Red-Eared Sliders in sunny places along pond edges or warming up on a log in the water. ● A turtle’s shell is attached to the spine and ribs. So a turtle would feel it, if you touched its shell.
    [Show full text]
  • Wasps and Bees in Southern Africa
    SANBI Biodiversity Series 24 Wasps and bees in southern Africa by Sarah K. Gess and Friedrich W. Gess Department of Entomology, Albany Museum and Rhodes University, Grahamstown Pretoria 2014 SANBI Biodiversity Series The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) was established on 1 Sep- tember 2004 through the signing into force of the National Environmental Manage- ment: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA) No. 10 of 2004 by President Thabo Mbeki. The Act expands the mandate of the former National Botanical Institute to include respon- sibilities relating to the full diversity of South Africa’s fauna and flora, and builds on the internationally respected programmes in conservation, research, education and visitor services developed by the National Botanical Institute and its predecessors over the past century. The vision of SANBI: Biodiversity richness for all South Africans. SANBI’s mission is to champion the exploration, conservation, sustainable use, appreciation and enjoyment of South Africa’s exceptionally rich biodiversity for all people. SANBI Biodiversity Series publishes occasional reports on projects, technologies, workshops, symposia and other activities initiated by, or executed in partnership with SANBI. Technical editing: Alicia Grobler Design & layout: Sandra Turck Cover design: Sandra Turck How to cite this publication: GESS, S.K. & GESS, F.W. 2014. Wasps and bees in southern Africa. SANBI Biodi- versity Series 24. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. ISBN: 978-1-919976-73-0 Manuscript submitted 2011 Copyright © 2014 by South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written per- mission of the copyright owners. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of SANBI.
    [Show full text]
  • Yellow & Black Garden Spider (Argiope Aurantia)
    (spider patch, around Parson’s pond, along boardwalk) Yellow & Black Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) Q: What well-known cartoon character looks like s/he is hanging out on the back of this spider? A: Marge Simpson (or one of those weird Gary Larson women) Yellow & Black Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) Q: Where would you find the male spider? A: The male is much smaller than the female and can often be found hanging out around the edge of the female’s web. One of the big jobs a male spider has is letting the female know that he is not food. Some males puck special tunes on the web, some males wait until the female has just molted – so her fangs are still soft. Some males throw some silk around the female and bind her up. Spider sex is a wild and wooly proposition! Yellow & Black Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) Q: What is that zig-zaggy thing down the middle of the web??? A: It’s called a stabilimentum. It was given this name because it was thought to provide stability. It doesn’t. It may act as camouflage. (It is always built by spiders that sit in the middle of their webs.) It may also reflect uv light and warn birds not to fly into the web. The uv light may actually attract insect prey. (We don’t really know – which is cool!) Yellow & Black Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) Q: What does the egg sac of this spider look like? And how many eggs does it hold? A: The egg sac is a beautiful pear-shaped structure.
    [Show full text]
  • The Adaptive Value of Web Decorations for Argiope Spiders (Araneae, Araneidae)
    The adaptive value of web decorations for Argiope spiders (Araneae, Araneidae) Dissertation (kumulativ) zur Erlangung der naturwissenschaftlichen Doktorwürde (Dr. rer. nat.) vorgelegt der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlich-Technischen Fakultät der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg von Diplom-Biologe André Walter geb. am 09.02.1977 in Lutherstadt Wittenberg Halle (Saale), 20.03.2008 Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Robin F.A. Moritz Prof. Dr. Jutta M. Schneider Dr. habil. Josef Settele Datum der Verteidigung: 27.10.2008 Contents Chapter 1 General introduction 3 Chapter 2 Web decorating behaviour in Argiope bruennichi (Araneae, 11 Araneidae): Is short-term variation an indication of a conditional strategy? Chapter 3 The wasp spider Argiope bruennichi (Arachnida, Araneidae): 22 Ballooning is not an obligate life history phase. Chapter 4 ‘Wrap attack’ activates web decorating behavior in Argiope 32 spiders. Chapter 5 Moulting interferes with web decorating behaviour in 47 Argiope keyserlingi. Chapter 6 Are web stabilimenta attractive to praying mantids? 62 Chapter 7 Argiope bruennichi shows a drinking like behaviour in web 74 hub decorations. Chapter 8 Synthesis 85 Chapter 9 Zusammenfassung 90 Literature cited 96 Appendix 106 - Danksagung - Curriculum vitae - Erklärung 2 Chapter 1 General introduction 3 Chapter 1: General introduction Spiders are a large invertebrate predator-guild (approx. 40.000 species) that has not substantially changed its fundamental lifestyle over millions of years. Unlike insects spiders show much fewer diversifications in terms of morphology and foraging strategies. Species of different families possess a very similar body plan and all feed almost exclusively on insects (Foelix 1996). Nevertheless, spiders conquered a broad spectrum of habitats. From the evolutionary point of view these order- specific features demonstrate that “They are obviously doing something right” (Craig 2003).
    [Show full text]
  • Common Spiders of the Chicago Region 1 the Field Museum – Division of Environment, Culture, and Conservation
    An Introduction to the Spiders of Chicago Wilderness, USA Common Spiders of the Chicago Region 1 The Field Museum – Division of Environment, Culture, and Conservation Produced by: Jane and John Balaban, North Branch Restoration Project; Rebecca Schillo, Conservation Ecologist, The Field Museum; Lynette Schimming, BugGuide.net. © ECCo, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL 60605 USA [http://fieldmuseum.org/IDtools] [[email protected]] version 2, 2/2012 Images © Tom Murray, Lynette Schimming, Jane and John Balaban, and others – Under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License (non-native species listed in red) ARANEIDAE ORB WEAVERS Orb Weavers and Long-Jawed Orb Weavers make classic orb webs made famous by the book Charlotte’s Web. You can sometimes tell a spider by its eyes, most have eight. This chart shows the orb weaver eye arrangement (see pg 6 for more info) 1 ARANEIDAE 2 Argiope aurantia 3 Argiope trifasciata 4 Araneus marmoreus Orb Weaver Spider Web Black and Yellow Argiope Banded Argiope Marbled Orbweaver ORB WEAVERS are classic spiders of gardens, grasslands, and woodlands. The Argiope shown here are the large grassland spiders of late summer and fall. Most Orb Weavers mature in late summer and look slightly different as juveniles. Pattern and coloring can vary in some species such as Araneus marmoreus. See the link for photos of its color patterns: 5 Araneus thaddeus 6 Araneus cingulatus 7 Araneus diadematus 8 Araneus trifolium http://bugguide.net/node/view/2016 Lattice Orbweaver Cross Orbweaver Shamrock Orbweaver 9 Metepeira labyrinthea 10 Neoscona arabesca 11 Larinioides cornutus 12 Araniella displicata 13 Verrucosa arenata Labyrinth Orbweaver Arabesque Orbweaver Furrow Orbweaver Sixspotted Orbweaver Arrowhead Spider TETRAGNATHIDAE LONG-JAWED ORB WEAVERS Leucauge is a common colorful spider of our gardens and woodlands, often found hanging under its almost horizontal web.
    [Show full text]
  • Silver Argiope Spider)
    UWI The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago Diversity Argiope argentata (Silver Argiope Spider) Order: Araneae (Spiders) Class: Arachnida (Spiders, Scorpions and Mites) Phylum: Arthropoda (Arthropods) Fig. 1. Silver argiope spider, Argiope argentata. [http://www.flickriver.com/photos/tags/argiopeargentata/interesting/ downloaded 22 October 2016] TRAITS. Argiope argentata is also known by the common names silver argiope and silver garden orb-weaver. The species is large and displays a pattern on the dorsal region consisting mainly of silver, orange and in some cases yellow (Uhl, 2008). The body comprises two regions, the abdomen (posterior) and the cephalothorax (anterior) (Fig. 1). The cephalothorax is very light in colour while the back half of the abdomen is a dark colour with patches of white. On average the females are 12mm in length, much larger than the males which are 4mm long. This species therefore displays sexual dimorphism, where the male is dwarf-like in comparison to the female (Foelix, 2010) (Fig. 2). DISTRIBUTION. They can be found in the grasslands of tropical and sub-tropical regions of the Americas (Uhl, 2008) and in Trinidad (Rutherford, 2013). They can also be found on small islands in the Bahamas (Schoener and Spiller, 1992). UWI The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago Diversity HABITAT AND ECOLOGY. A. argentata resides in grasslands, gardens and forested areas. They set up their webs on shrubs and vegetation close to the ground (Providence College, 2010). The webs created by this spider is a distinctive characteristic of the species. Generally, smaller spiders build their webs closer to the ground, and the spider may reposition its web if sufficient prey were not captured in the first position.
    [Show full text]
  • New Distribution Data of Orb-Weaver Spiders in Morocco (Araneae: Araneidae)
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Kaposvári Egyetem Folyóiratai / Kaposvar University: E-Journals Acta Agraria Kaposváriensis (2016) Vol 20 No 1, 82-88. Kaposvári Egyetem, Agrár- és Környezettudományi Kar, Kaposvár New distribution data of orb-weaver spiders in Morocco (Araneae: Araneidae) J. Gál 1, L. Robson 1, G. Kovács 2 1University of Veterinary Science, Department of Exotic Animal and Wildlife Medicine H-1078, Budapest, István Street 2. 2H-6724, Szeged, Londoni Krt. 1., IV-II/10. ABSTRACT The authors collected and examined 11 species of 7 genera of the Araneidae family in Morocco between the 1st of June 2012 and the 31st of November 2013. These 11 species belong to the following genera: Agalenatea, Araneus, Argiope, Cyclosa, Cyrtophora, Larinioides and Zygiella. In this paper we add the first report on 10 of these species in the area of Morocco. Of all the taxa we found in Morocco only one - Araneus arganicola Simon, 1909 - was known from the country previously. (Keywords: Araneidae , faunistic data, spider, Morocco) INTRODUCTION The orb-weaver spider ( Araneidae ) shows high variety in morphologically forms including relatively small to large species ( Jäger, 2012; Jones, 1983; Loksa, 1972; Ubick et al., 2004). Their cephalic region of the prosoma is narrow, and then broadens like a bottle, but still usually remains flat. Their eyes are seated in two rows. The two lateral eyes in the lower row are further away from the rest of the eyes in the middle. They have strong chelicerae. Opisthosoma is very diverse in appearance, but usually carries the specific colour pattern for the given taxon.
    [Show full text]