''Argiope catenulata'', also known as the grass cross spider, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

orb-weaver spider Orb-weaver spiders are members of the spider family Araneidae. They are the most common group of builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields, and forests. The English word "orb" can mean "circular", hence the English name ...

s (family Araneidae) ranging from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, and also found in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 2019. Like other species of the same

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

, it builds a web with a zig-zag

stabilimentum A stabilimentum (plural: stabilimenta), also known as a web decoration, is a conspicuous silk structure included in the webs of some species of orb-web spider. Its function is a subject of debate. Origin It is likely that the use of stabiliment ...

Description

''Argiope catenulata'' is a colorful

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

. The female's

cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

is yellow with black eye margins. Its abdomen is oblong with a black and silvery-whitish yellow dorsal pattern. Brown patches of irregular shapes are present from the median of the

opisthosoma The opisthosoma is the posterior part of the body in some arthropods, behind the prosoma (cephalothorax). It is a distinctive feature of the subphylum Chelicerata (arachnids, horseshoe crabs and others). Although it is similar in most respects to a ...

(abdomen) to the posterior side. The legs are black with thin white rings. The male is smaller than the female. It has a brownish red to yellowish brown cephalothorax with black eye margins. Its abdomen is yellowish with a dorsal pattern as in the female. The legs are yellowish brown.

Ecology

''Argiope catenulata'' are web builders, the circular webs have zigzag webbing known as white

stabilimenta A stabilimentum (plural: stabilimenta), also known as a web decoration, is a conspicuous spider silk, silk structure included in the webs of some species of Spider web#Types of spider webs, orb-web spider. Its function is a subject of debate. Or ...

making them sticky. They are common in all rice environments. They are late colonizers of rice fields and are found with their heads hanging down in their webs. The female spider lays between 600 and 800 eggs in her life span of 2 to 3 months. The eggs of ''A. catenulata'' are contained in a light brown cocoon which hangs on the web.

Gallery

Argiope catenulata of Kadavoor.jpg, ''Argiope catenulata'', underside Argiope catenulata (Fogg Dam 1) 5529.jpg, Northern Territory, Australia Argiope catenulata (Fogg Dam 2) 5534.jpg, Northern Territory, Australia Argiope catenulata (Fogg Dam 3) 5552.jpg, Northern Territory, Australia

References

External links

Research amnh
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1307722 Spiders of Asia catenulata Spiders described in 1859