Yellow Garden Spider, Writing Spider Argiope aurantia (Lucas) (Arachnida: Araneae: Araneidae)

Most commonly known as the yellow garden spider, Argiope aurantia Lucas is a large orb-weaving spider. It is also known as the writing spider due to the trademark vertical zig zag pattern they construct in their webs (Enders 1973). The yellow garden spider is a very common species and has captured many gardener’s attention due to their zig zag web, striking black and white pattern, and relatively large size. Although their appearance may cause alarm, the species is relatively harmless and will generally leave its web to flee rather than attack when disturbed (Enders 1973).https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1273

Does personality explain variation in the probability of sexual cannibalism in the orb-web spider Argiope aurantia?

Sexual cannibalism is often hypothesized to be an extreme manifestation of sexual conflict, yet we still lack a good understanding of the underlying motivation in most species. Hypotheses for the ultimate causes of sexual cannibalism either invoke the behavior as adaptive or mal-adaptive. Adaptive hypotheses consider foraging decisions, mate choice or genetic bet-hedging. Mal-adaptive hypotheses propose that sexual cannibalism is the result of mistaken species identity or the by-product of an aggression syndrome. Here, we test the latter hypothesis, that sexual cannibalism is the result of an aggression syndrome. This hypothesis states that aggressive behavior is favored in the foraging context because females benefit from achieving a large size quickly through an increase in fecundity, and it predicts that individuals that are aggressive foragers are more likely to attack a male and hence are at risk of receiving no or insufficient quantities of sperm. Few tests of this hypothesis are available to date, and only one involved a species with sexual cannibalism occurring after at least some sperm transfer. We test the hypothesis in Argiope aurantia, a species in which females frequently attack males during copulation. We estimated aggressiveness in the foraging context in penultimate and adults females and staged matings using the same females to evaluate whether aggressiveness during the foraging context predicts the likelihood of sexual cannibalism. Indeed, we find that aggressive foragers are more likely to attack their mates, but we conclude that other, possibly adaptive reasons for cannibalism exist as much of the uncertainty in cannibalism occurrence remained unexplained.

Isolated Spider Web Stabillmentum Attracts Insects

The insect-attraction function of silk stabilimenta spun by Argiope spiders was directly tested by examining if isolated stabilimenta will increase insect interception in artificial webs. Artificial webs were made from basswood frames and fine monofilaments coated with a sticky substance and were divided into two groups, experimental and control. In the experimental group, silk stabilimenta isolated from stabilimentum-decorated webs spun by Argiope aurantia were introduced. In the control group, corresponding areas collected from the undecorated webs of A. trifasciata were introduced. A general linear model was used to examine the effect of stabilimenta, web location, and date of data collection on insect interception in artificial webs. When the effects of location and date were simultaneously considered, artificial webs containing isolated stabilimenta intercepted significantly more flying insects (41.6% more) than those in the control group. However, there was no difference in orthopteran interception rates between experimental and control groups. These results indicate that silk stabilimenta of Argiope spiders do attract insects, although not all insects exhibit a strong orientation response to them.