Argiope appensa

Argiope appensa
	File:Sugar cane spider.jpg
	A. appensa on Hawai'i
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Suborder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Araneidae
Genus:	Argiope
Species:	A. appensa
Binomial name
	Argiope appensa; (Walckenaer, 1842)
Synonyms
	Epeira appensa; E. crenulata; A. chrysorrhoea; A. crenulata; A. boetonica; Coganargiope reticulata; A. schoenigi;

Argiope appensa is a spider that occurs on several islands in the Western Pacific Ocean. It has been introduced to Hawai'i, and is found on Taiwan and New Guinea. It inhabits a wide variety of habitats, from coasts to forests.

Description

Females reach a body length of up to 7cm and are strikingly black and yellow, while the brown males reach only about 2cm. [1]

On Guam, where A. appensa is ubiquitous, it is frequently visited by Argyrodes argentatus. Locals there refer to A. appensa as banana spiders.

References

Walckenaer, C.A. (1842). Histoire naturelle des Insects. Aptères. Paris, 2: 1-549.
Kerr, A.M. (2005). Behavior of web-invading spiders Argyrodes argentatus (Theridiidae) in Argiope appensa (Araneidae) host webs in Guam. Journal of Arachnology 33(1): Abstract PDF
Kerr, A. M. 1993. Unusually low frequency of stabilimenta in webs of Argiope appensa (Araneae: Araneidae) from the Mariana Islands: an indirect effect of an introduced avian predator? Pacific Science 47: 328-337. Abstract