This spider has a wide distribution encompassing the whole of Africa and stretching to southern Europe and into Asia.
Without the legs, it reaches 25 to 30 mm in length. The female’s characteristic lobes distinguish her from other spiders of the araneidae family.
The web is loose and the threads are very thin. I found this specimen in the scrublands of north-eastern Spain, near a huge water dam.
As all argiope spiders it remains head down, underparts toward the sun: the black and yellow checkerboard conceals her perfectly with its scrubland environment.
L’Argiope lobée ou Argiope soyeuse
Sa distribution s’étend dans toute l’Afrique et au sud de l’Europe. Sans les pattes, cette grande araignée fait 20 à 25 mm de long. Chez la femelle, les lobes caractéristiques de l’abdomen la distinguent des autres araignées de la famille des araneidés.
Sa toile est lâche et les fils très fins. J’ai trouvé ce spécimen dans un terrain ouvert genre garrigue en amont du grand réservoir d’eau de Baldellou en Catalogne, au nord de Lérida.
Comme toutes les argiopes, elle se tient la tête en bas et préfère présenter ses dessous au soleil: le damier jaune et noir la confond parfaitement avec son environnement de garrigue.
This tiny male daring an approach is no more than 6 to 8 mm in length!
Le petit mâle qui tente une approche ne fait 6/8 mm!
To get the recto side, I had to coax her a bit!
Noushka
Passionate about Nature and photography but mostly animals and birds. I live in France at the present, but have lived in Africa for 16 years and in the U.S. for 3 years and with Australia in mind for the future. With my husband, I created and managed a Bird Park in South Africa, raising mainly psittacines; the breeding facility housed over 1000 parrots at any given time. My photography is about sharing fauna's beauty with other enthusiasts! Equipment: NIKON lenses: 400 mm Z F4/5, 800 mm Z, 500 mm, 200/500 mm, 800 mm f5/6E
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