Gumtree Trunk Weaver - Argiope sp.
FAMILY ARANEIDAE
This page contains pictures and information about Gumtree Weaver Spiders that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Body length 15mm
- The spiders are dark grey to black in colour, with white line along the sides of the long hreat-shaped abdomen. Legs are all black with white ring.
- This spider build orb web against gum tree trunk. Their web is relatively small, 200-300mm in diameter. The spiders rest on web with legs in pair. When we came close, they vibrated the web very quickly and they become almost invisible. Most of them are found on gum tree trunk with dark colour bark, such as the Ironbark gum trees or those gum trees with burn bark.
- Like other species in this Argiope genus, the adult female build web with stabilimentum. This spider species put the stabilimentum around on the other edge of the web.
- We noticed that this spider has one pair of eyes on the top of throax which are quite large (most web building spiders have very small eyes and some even cannot be seen). Those spiders may visually detects the prey coming closely, then vibrate their web to enhance the chance of entangle the prey.
Young Spider
- Same as the St Andrew's Cross Spider, the young spiders of this species build web with circular stabilimentum. They look exactly the same as the adult, of course smaller in size. Adults do not make those circular stabilimentum.
Egg-Sac
- Female with egg-sac Two egg-sacs, 10mm dia
- Females make disk-like egg-sac near their web. The egg-sacs are round and flattened with rough edges. They are pale brown in colour.
Different Colour Form
- We sometimes found the pale form of this spider.
- Pale form on white tree trunk
- Most of the Gumtree Weaver Spiders are black in colour, but some times we found the reddish brown and pale brown forms. Usually they build web on tree trunk with colours match their body colours.
- Black form on white tree trunk Brown form on brown tree trunk
- Reference:
- 1. Argiope species - The Find-a-spider Guide for Australian Spiders, University of Southern Queensland, 2007.
