Black and Yellow Argiope, with prey - Argiope aurantia - BugGuide.Net

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Photo#2382

Copyright © 2004 Troy Bartlett

Black and Yellow Argiope, with prey - Argiope aurantia -

Chattahoochee Nat'l Rec Area, Abbots Bridge, Georgia, USA
September 2, 2003

Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 1:32pm

silly question

i caught a fly and threw it into the spiders web to watch it in action .. i have one just like this in my yard its body is a little over and inch not including the legs... didnt notice the zigzag in the web but i guess i got a little too close and it switched sides of the web and started rocking towards me.. is this a defense mechanism or was it getting ready to jump at me?

… Tony S. Sorensen, 13 September, 2007 - 10:05am

defense

It is a defense mechanism...if this spider feels threatened it will try to make itself appear larger by rocking itself to vibrate the web. They can bite (not a serious bite), but they're more likely to fall out of their web and run away.

… shanin, 15 September, 2007 - 1:51pm

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