Comments & ID Thoughts
I want to know what spider this is
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Jan 26, 2019
- Photographed: Jan 26, 2019
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: Port Elizabeth, South Africa
- Spotted Outdoors: Man-made structure (building wall, fences, etc.)
- Found in web?: Yes
- Attributes:
Argiope australis?
You mean garden spider? It might be another type of Argiope
Yes. They are called orbweavers and garden spiders. You’re right that it might be a different species of Argiope. The World Spider Catalog lists the places established populations of a species lives. It is possible that there are populations of a spider in other places. An easy shortcut is to go to the genus name on Wikipedia. There is a list in most of the spider genus articles to a consolidated index of species locations from the World Spider Catalog. For Argiope, scroll down to “Taxonomy ,” under that is, “species.” That is where the list, circa 2016, is.
As TangledWeb has said, there are a number of Argiope species in South Africa. With the lobed abdomen, transverse yellow markings and tight banding on the legs it looks a lot like Argiope australis to me as well.
OK I found the exact spider, its an argiope Australis here is the link to the page with the exact same spider in the picture: https://www.flickr.com/photos/oom_piet/3193839505
Wow! That is amazing! Why is this spider still “Unidentified” though?
It hasn’t been checked and processed by the volunteer website moderator. It’s a matter of having enough time to make sure all of the IDs are done right. Dr. Ewing is a career professional, the ID is probably correct 🙂
Thank you! I never really fully understood how it worked. I appreciate the explanation!