Talk:Argiope (spider)
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Article Grading: sort out which info is for genus, which only for specific species. --Sarefo 02:16, 31 July 2006 (UTC) |
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[edit] Rewrite
I reordered the information, but I'm still not sure what info belongs to the genus, and which belongs to individual species (eg. that they build the net belt-high). The original article mixed this a lot. --Sarefo 02:15, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
- It may be difficult to make absolute statements. Most of them that I see mentioned in books at hand are around an inch high, which means that they have to have enough space to make their webs, i.e., the center of the web has to be at least a couple of feet off the ground. I've never seen them making webs in the branches of trees. They need two fairly closely spaced "poles" to build between, and usually that is two tall weeds that grow up as a single stalk with leaves rather than branches. I think that's just because that kind of vegetation is the most likely thing to be available. A couple of fence posts spaced a few feet apart would be just as likely to work for them, but you don't often find that kind of configuration available.
- In Taiwan there is some kind of an orb weaver that builds in the tall ʕ -shaped street lamp poles, up at the top of the arc above the roof line of one- and two-story buildings. The webs appear to be about 5 feet in diameter, and the spiders look huge. I suppose they must have been Nephilla. The Nephilla build extremely tough webs, and I'm guessing that they catch the occasional wren not to mention dragon flies, butterflies, large moths, etc. Different things fly at that altitude.
- I've seen Araneus build high. They like to build in doorways and above my own height. I've seen that pattern in Brooklyn and in my backyard here in North Carolina. They also build where there is a light to attract night time guests. Argiope seldom builds in these places. I think I've seen pictures of webs built near houses in gardens, but they seem to head for the prairie settings.
- One of the odd things about lots of the websites put up by people with real credentials is that they may not give the approximate lengths or typical lengths of the spiders they feature. If there are half-inch or quarter-inch Argiope then I would expect to find their webs nearer to the ground.
- The Leucauge that flourish around here are tiny things. They love to build their webs near the tops of garbage cans that have been left with their lids off. The cans are just the right size for them. An Argiope would never build there because (1) there just isn't enough room, and (2) they seem to pick places where wandering rabbits will kick up grasshoppers and other prey that will then collide with their webs. An Argiope could conceivably build a web at the top of one of the semi-circular street light poles, but she would waste huge amounts of silk to bridge across the 5 foot diameter, and her web would likely get holed right away by the next sparrow heading that way. P0M 00:58, 9 August 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Banana spiders
As kids in Louisiana we called these Bannana spiders. They were the bane of all boys who rode bikes fast down forest trails. --DanielCD 21:49, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
When I was a child in Indiana we also called them Bannana Spiders. I imagine it was due to the yellow markings.Harmon1630
[edit] edit
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- It would be an interesting experiment to see whether animals such as deer walk around them if they are on their path; if a human or other rather large creature walks through a web, then the spider's weaving job is demolished.
It would be an interesting experiment! But, I removed this line from the article.... :) MisterSheik 04:39, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Some pictures
I'm not sure but I think those pictures could be included in the article: Talk:Spider#pictures Ajor 16:12, 15 March 2007 (UTC)
