Species: Wasp Spider (Argiope bruennichi)
Family: Orb-web Spiders (ARANEIDAE)
Category: Arachnids
Location: Widespread
A. Arachnids
More extensive information on arachnids can be found in a separate blog post.
B. Orb-web Spiders (ARANEIDAE)
These are three-clawed builders of flat webs with sticky spiral capture silk. The building of a web is begun when the spider floats a line on the wind to another surface. The spider secures the line and then drops another line from the centre, making a "Y". The rest of the scaffolding follows with many radii of non-sticky silk being constructed before a final spiral of sticky capture silk.
C. Wasp Spider (Argiope bruennichi)
Originally native to the Mediterranean, this spider has colonised the south coast of England, and is expanding its range inland. Although it is called the Wasp Spider it doesn't really look like a wasp mimic. It has cream and black horizontal markings on the abdomen.
