Kirill Mikhailov, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Zoological Museum of Moscow State University
Evgeny Panov,
Doctor of Biological Sciences, Institute of Ecology and Evolution named after.
A. N. Severtsova RAS “Nature” No. 7, 2014
Spiders of the genus Argiope
from the orb weaver family (Araneidae) distributed throughout the world;
most of them live in tropical countries. The genus has 80 species, one of them is the striped argiope, or bruennichi's argiope ( Argiope bruennichi
), which in Western Europe is called the “wasp spider” because of the striped black and yellow color of the abdomen characteristic of females. This bright large spider is widespread in the forest-steppe, steppe and semi-desert zones of Eurasia and even a little wider.
Title page of the book by S. A. Spassky []. A strip of paper with the letters “R.S.F.S.R.”, pasted on later, is clearly visible
The biology of the striped argiope in the conditions of the steppe zone is devoted to the work of the Russian arachnologist Sergei Aleksandrovich Spassky, who worked almost his entire life in Novocherkassk []. It is noteworthy that this work was published during the hot years of the civil war and reflects the change of power in the then Don region: the main text was printed according to the rules abolished by the Soviet regime: with hard signs at the end of words, “yat” and “and decimal”, and on the title page the inscription “V.v.D.” is carefully taped over (White Guard “All-Great Don Army”), instead of which “R.S.F.S.R.” is indicated.
Currently, the striped argiope is actively developing the forest zone of Europe, moving north in Scandinavia [] and in the European part of Russia [, ]. A description of the biology and nature of the settlement of this wonderful spider on the territory of our country is the topic of this message.
Argiope Brünnich spider: poisonous or not?
The question of the potential danger of the entire crawling brethren worries people in the first place.
Argiope Brünnich did not escape a similar fate. Whether this species of spider is poisonous or not is incorrect to ask. Strictly speaking, all arachnids are poisonous; another thing is that not all representatives of the species are able to bite through the skin enough for their poison to reach at least the capillaries. So, even without conducting laboratory tests, we can say with confidence that Argiope Brünnich is a poisonous insect. In the end, it is with poison that she “pacifies” her victims. And it is fatal to insects. Another thing is the person. Its dimensions are not comparable to those of Argiope Brünnich. The bite of this spider is therefore relatively harmless to humans. It can be compared to being stung by a wasp (the spider lives up to its middle name). The sensation is quite painful, and swelling and itching may subsequently occur, but an argiope bite does not pose any danger. Only an allergic person can suffer from it. But the same troubles will be brought to him by the bite of any insect, even a mosquito. Wasp Spider,
or
Bruennichi's argiope (
Argiope bruennichi )
is an arthropod that belongs to the class Arachnida, order Spiders, suborder Opisthothelae, infraorder Araneomorpha spiders, superfamily Araneoidea, family orb-weaving spiders, subfamily Argiopinae, genus Argiope.
International scientific name: Argiope bruennichi
(Scopoli, 1772).
The species name for the spider was given in honor of Morten Trane Brünnich, a zoologist from Denmark. Due to its warning coloration with black and yellow stripes, this representative of arachnids is often found under the name wasp spider, and in some countries it is called the tiger spider or zebra spider. Some people incorrectly call it the bee spider.
On the fourth stripe from the cephalothorax, two small tubercles are clearly visible.
The male wasp spider is inconspicuous, does not look like a wasp at all and is painted in a light beige color, on which 2 longitudinal dark stripes are barely visible.
The wasp spider has 6 pairs of limbs: 4 pairs of walking legs, 1 pair of chelicerae (jaws) with movable claws, with which the striped spider grabs prey, and 1 pair of pedipalps, which perform the function of touch.
In individuals of both sexes, the legs are long and thin, brownish in color. The limbs of females are decorated with alternating bright dark and light rings, very similar to stockings. In males, the rings on the limbs are faded and blurred. Large bulbs, their reproductive organs, are clearly visible on the pedipalps of male wasp spiders.
The respiratory organs of the wasp spider are represented by a pair of lungs and trachea, opening with one spiracle in front of the arachnoid warts.
Reproduction and lifespan of agriope
As soon as the molting takes place, which marks the female’s readiness to mate, this action occurs, since the female’s chelicerae still remain soft for some time. The male knows in advance exactly when this will happen, because he can wait for a long time for the right moment, hiding somewhere on the edge of the female’s large web.
After copulation, the female immediately eats her partner. There have been cases when the male managed to escape from the cocoon of the web that the female weaves by running away, however, the next mating will most likely become fatal for the lucky one.
This is due to the presence in males of only two limbs, which play the role of copulation organs. After mating, one of these limbs falls off, however, if the spider manages to escape, one more remains.
Before laying, the expectant mother weaves a dense large cocoon and places it near the trapping net. It is there that she subsequently lays all her eggs, and their number can reach several hundred pieces. Staying nearby all the time, the female carefully guards the cocoon.
But, with the approach of cold weather, the female dies, the cocoon exists unchanged all winter, and only in the spring do the spiderlings come out, settling in different places. As a rule, to do this they move through the air using webs. The entire life cycle of Argiope bronychis lasts 1 year.
Agryope nutrition
Most often, grasshoppers, flies, and mosquitoes become victims of webs located a short distance from the ground. However, no matter what insect falls into the trap, the spider will happily feast on it. As soon as the victim touches the silk threads and adheres securely to them, argiope
approaches her and uses poison. After its impact, the insect stops resisting, calmly wraps it in a dense cocoon of web and immediately eats it.
Argiope lobata spider
is engaged in setting the trap most of the time in the evening. The whole process takes him about an hour. The result is a fairly large round web, in the center of which there is a stabilimentum (a zigzag pattern that consists of clearly visible threads).
This is a distinctive feature of almost all orb weavers, but Argiope stands out here too - its network is decorated for stabilimentum. They start in the center of the trap and spread out to its edges.
Having finished its work, the spider takes its place in the center, arranging its limbs in its characteristic way - two left and two right front legs, as well as two left and two right hind legs, so close that from a distance one can mistake the insect for the letter X hanging on the web. The food of Argiope bruenich are orthopteran insects, but the spider does not disdain any others.
The photo shows an argiope web with stabilimentums
The pronounced zigzag-shaped stabilimentum reflects ultraviolet light, thereby trapping victims. The meal itself often takes place on the ground, where it descends, leaving the cobwebs, in order to feast on it in a secluded place, without unnecessary observers.
Reproduction of Argiope
The mating period occurs immediately after the female moults, which precedes puberty. At this time, the covers of its chelicerae are still soft. Everyone knows the sad fate of the male karakurt spider (black widow). It is simply eaten by the female immediately after mating, thereby increasing the chances of survival of her offspring. In the case of agriope, we observe a similar situation.
In July, at the edges of the web, as a rule, you can see a male waiting for the last moult of the female. As mentioned above, one pair of its limbs is transformed into bulbs. During the fertilization process, one of them falls off. If the male manages to hide from the female, then he can mate with another female.
Argiope Brünnich lays its eggs in a large cocoon (pictured above), which resembles the structure of a plant capsule. It is located near the web. The spider is fertile, the number of eggs laid at one time reaches several hundred. At the beginning of autumn, young spiders are born. They leave their cocoon in a rather peculiar way. Young individuals climb to heights, then release a long thread and, with a gust of wind, are carried away with it. Thus, the species spreads across natural biotopes. The full life cycle of this type of spider is one year.
In the next photo you can see spiders just emerging from the cocoon.
Population and species status
Photo: Yellow Spider
Although people do not encounter them so often, this should be attributed primarily to their stealth. After all, the species is widespread, the population cannot be counted - within their range, yellow spiders are found in almost every field and meadow, often there are hundreds and thousands of them.
Of course, due to human activity, the number of these fields is gradually decreasing, and some of the living creatures inhabiting them are dying out due to poor ecology, but yellow spiders are certainly not among the species that are threatened by this. Like most other spiders, they are excellent adapters and survivors.
As a result, they are among the least threatened species, are not protected, and are unlikely to ever be - they are too common and tenacious. It is much more likely that over time they will be able to adapt to a hotter climate and expand their range to the tropics, and that sooner or later they will take root on other continents.
The yellow spider does not cause any harm to humans - it bites only when attacked and, although poisonous, is not so much as to cause damage to human health. They are very small and live mainly in wild places. Taking advantage of their inconspicuous nature, they lie in wait on flowers for their victims, who may even be much larger than themselves.
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