490:(e.g. grasshoppers and crickets). Furthermore, decorated webs with spiders on the webs catch much more prey than decorated webs without spiders. Decorated webs without spiders, however, still catch more prey than webs without decorations. Web decorations have been suggested to mimic the pattern of pollen resources that prey insects are attracted to. In some cases, prey have been known to associate decorations with the spiders and avoid them. This is especially true if they have been caught in the web before (and were able to escape), as the prey will know that the decorations are a trap. However, because there are much more
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with how after the first insertion, males aggressively resist cannibalism. These observations have led to the theory that males welcome sexual cannibalism after the second insertion. Sexual cannibalism may be favored by natural selection as it provides resources to the female. This can improve the reproductive success of the female and therefore help the males' genes be passed on. Sexual cannibalism is most likely to occur if the male only mates once in his lifetime. Even when males survive the second insertion, they often die the following day, indicating that being cannibalized may be part of their natural behavior.
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spiders. The strategy is that they are willing to take the risk of being predated in return for the increased capture success that they get using decorated webs. This is so that they can quickly become a large spider and grow out of being the vulnerable medium size. Therefore, there are two selection pressures going against each other. One selection pressure causes them to create brilliantly decorated webs as they attract more prey and allow them to grow out of the venerable size. However, another selection pressure suggests them to stop building decorated webs as they attract predators. Therefore, the
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614:. Starved spiders created spirals with smaller distances between each other likely to be able to capture more prey. Finally, spiders also created more spiral turns whilst reducing the distance between each turn. This was done so likely because increased spiral turns meant greater capture area, but it also meant more resources expended. Therefore, by reducing the distance between each spiral turn, the spiders were able to create greater capture area whilst expending as little energy as possible.
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593:, were placed in a cage, they chose decorated webs more often than undecorated webs. An interesting observation was that in the presence of predators, these spiders reduced the size and building frequency of the webs. On the other hand, a study showed that blue jays attacked spiders with decorated webs less often. This could be due to the fact that the blue jays have learnt not attack webs as they are sticky and have associated the stickiness with the decorations.
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346:- hence its namesake. The female spider has a carapace that is flat with yellow and black horizontal lines that are present from the end of the carapace to the entirety of the backside. The spider has eight legs that are doubled up and spread like an X in the web. The legs are long with claw like structures at the end. Their legs have grey color and black rings around them. The
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make rationalized decisions based on the given input. The starved spiders also made the mesh in the webs narrower. This is likely due to the fact that they were unable to tell the size of the prey and therefore made it the smallest it could to be able to capture any prey. Spiders also adjusted the distance between sticky
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are able to understand its environment, forecast its potential prey accordingly, and adjust web decorations to fit the prey that they are anticipating. For example, when there are only small prey in the area, the spiders will build narrow mesh like webs to capture these small prey. They also made the
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when or after they insert their palpal bulb. If males are not cannibalized during the first insertion, they are almost guaranteed to get eaten after the second insertion. In fact, in most cases, males lie motionless after completing the second insertion, possibly dying or having died. This contrast
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is a dirty white color and the sternum is shaped like a heart. There are four yellow dots that are placed in its abdomen and are organized vertically. The females’ exotic color has been speculated to be associated with prey attraction. Males are much less brilliant in their color. Their sternum and
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lower. Furthermore, starved spiders were much more likely to build larger webs than well-fed spiders. Not only did starved spiders build larger webs, they also increased their capture area. This adjustment capability illustrates the fact that these spiders are able to observe its surroundings and
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between prey capture and predation risk. Decorated webs capture much more prey but also increase the risk of predation. Interestingly, despite being targeted the most, medium-sized spiders had the greatest frequency for building decorations. This could be attributed to a strategy for medium-sized
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for the web decorations are for prey capture. Studies have suggested that the greater the capture area and the less visible the webs, the greater the capture success rate. Generally, the smallest sized web is around 2 m. In general, the decorated webs are 60% more likely to capture prey than
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into the female. This is known as the first insertion. After the first insertion, the male then jumps away from the female. Some males are eaten before they can escape. If they can successfully escape, the male begins the second insertion. Around half the time, the second insertion is successful
581:. The spiders generally tend to use eggs, waste, or prey to create their decorations. In some cases, the decorations are entirely made of the spider's silk. The purpose of the decorations are not exactly clear, although they have been speculated to serve purposes such as prey capture or
527:, they chose only a specific range of female spiders, 24–27 mm, to eat. In an experiment that measured predator attacks, almost all of the attacks were on medium-sized spiders whilst only one out of 18 was on a large spider. It has been suggested that wasps use the
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pattern of the decorated webs and the pollen resources, they exhibited similar patterns indicating why prey can be confused. Furthermore, the design on the bodies of the spiders also serve as a lure. The prey of these spiders prefer patterns that are both
589:, the decorations are highly visible showing that it may not serve as camouflage. Furthermore, these studies have suggested that the silk decorations can actually attract predators. The study conducted showed that when the spiders’ predator,
630:. If the males survive the first copulation, then they almost always die during the second attempt. However, further studies have shown that male invariably dies after second copulation as a form of programmed suicide.
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These spiders are found largely in South East Asian countries such as the
Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. They can also be seen in India, Sri Lanka, China, northern Australia, and southern Japan.
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horizontal black and yellow lines with disrupted patterns on their legs. This attractive pattern and the lure of the decorated webs are most likely why decorated webs with spiders on them caught the most prey.
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that are less than 10 mm long build webs deep inside the vegetation rather than out in the open. This is likely due to the fact that they require extra protection due to their size.
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reserve in the spiders’ silk glands vary from spider to spider. This quantity of available silk may influence the amount of silk they can produce and therefore the size of their webs.
626:, that is believed to serve a camouflage function. They show extreme sexual dimorphism and males are only 10% of the female in size and as a result become victims of
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status of the spiders often sway this decision into one way or another. The genetic component of this is particularly evident in the fact that the amount of
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that are sometimes used against prey if they are still alive. When humans get bit, there is some swelling although no medical attention is needed.
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backside are brownish while their carapace is black. Both sexes have abdomens that are oval shaped. They are easy to identify thanks to their
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is heart shaped. Further, there is a narrow elongation found at the distal end of sternum. Its oval shaped and anteriorly truncated
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Abrenica-Adamat, Liza, et al. “The
Influence of Prey on Size, Capture Area and Mesh Height of the Orb-Web of the Garden Spider.”
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resources than spider decorations, most prey will associate the decorations with food rather than a predator. When comparing the
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Newman, J. A. & Elgar, M. A. 1991. Sexual cannibalismin orb-weaving spiders: an economic model.Am. Nat.,138,1372–1395.
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The female is larger than male - often reaching 25–30 mm while the male tends to stop growing at 5–8 mm. Its
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Wei Yeh, Chien. “Top down and Bottom up
Selection Drives Variations in Frequency and Form of a Visual Signal.”
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species are also commonly called "St. Andrew's cross spiders". An alternate scientific name for the species is
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Elgar, Mark A., et al. “Female
Control of Paternity in the Sexually Cannibalistic SpiderArgiope Keyserlingi.”
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Cheng, Ren-Chung, and I-Min Tso. “Signaling by
Decorating Webs: Luring Prey or Deterring Predators?”
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which is native to southeast Asia, found from India and Sri Lanka to the
Philippines, Indonesia, and
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comes from the Greek Αργιόπη, "silver face" (sharing a common root with the Latin word for silver,
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against predators. However, recent studies have indicated that when viewed against the background
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Cheng, R C. “Insect Form Vision as One
Potential Shaping Force of Spider Web Decoration Design.”
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256:), referring to the fact that the spiders in this group have silky silver hairs covering their
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are common in their habitat. They tend to have their webs around 1–2 m above the ground.
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is brownish with a white pubescence. Its posterior median eyes are encircled in black and its
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Foellmer, Matthias W. “Spontaneous Male Death during
Copulation in an Orb-Weaving Spider.”
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in their web. Males are 5–8 mm while females are 23–30 mm creating a large size
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Sasaki, Takeshi; Iwahashi, Osamu (1995). "Sexual cannibalism in an orb-weaving spider
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is yellowish with black stripes. Its ventrum is brownish with yellow parallel lines.
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Signature spiders get their name from the zigzag design embossed on the web, the
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and disrupted. These spiders have patterns that match this criterion. They have
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832:, vol. 267, no. 1460, 7 Dec. 2000, pp. 2439–2443., doi:10.1098/rspb.2000.1303.
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of these spiders are not a serious threat to humans. Their venom contains
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Proceedings of the Royal
Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences
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St. Andrew's cross spider, which can be confusing because several other
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decorations. When they get larger than 23 mm, they tend to build
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Medium spiders are at most risk for predation. In an experiment with
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while the other half, the male is eaten after the first insertion.
722:, vol. 18, no. 6, 2007, pp. 1085–1091., doi:10.1093/beheco/arm081.
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Spontaneous male death during copulation in an orb-weaving spider
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decorations as an indicator for the location of the spiders.
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family. They are in the same genus as common spiders such as
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Egyptian
Academic Journal of Biological Sciences, B. Zoology
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and they prefer woodland in sunny locations where there are
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undecorated webs. Some of the prey for the spider includes
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When the spiders are less than 23 mm, they build
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When the male arrives at the female's web, he begins
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to give them protection. Vegetation species such as
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305:or the yellow garden spider, and the
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846:Journal of Experimental Biology
268:They are commonly known as the
24:Oval St Andrew's Cross Spider
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685:, Natural History Museum Bern
211:oval St Andrew's cross spider
1139:. You can help Knowledge by
755:"Argiope aemula description"
597:Adjustment of web decoration
403:giant false sensitive plants
757:. India Biodiversity Portal
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381:They are found near human
1196:Spiders described in 1841
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58:Scientific classification
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363:Distribution and habitat
342:has silver hairs on its
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482:(e.g. wasps and ants),
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444:Size-affected behavior
464:Hunting and predation
683:World Spider Catalog
679:(Walckenaer, 1841)"
239:Taxonomy and naming
862:Scientific Reports
720:Behavioral Ecology
628:sexual cannibalism
523:, the predator of
426:Sexual cannibalism
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1023:iNaturalist
933:Wikispecies
761:12 November
496:ultraviolet
480:Hymenoptera
419:palpal bulb
383:settlements
320:Description
105:Chelicerata
101:Subphylum:
1180:Categories
689:2016-05-07
656:References
587:vegetation
583:camouflage
560:Web design
488:Orthoptera
475:hypothesis
399:big bidens
195:Walckenaer
95:Arthropoda
1133:Araneidae
807:140208434
647:polyamine
508:symmetric
504:symmetric
499:radiating
415:courtship
357:dichotomy
296:Araneidae
287:Phylogeny
258:carapaces
248:The term
244:Etymology
223:Araneidae
163:Species:
145:Araneidae
115:Arachnida
81:Kingdom:
75:Eukaryota
1041:10543498
960:BioLib:
924:Q1903812
918:Wikidata
541:tradeoff
529:cruciate
454:cruciate
439:Behavior
344:carapace
281:nigripes
254:argentum
141:Family:
91:Phylum:
85:Animalia
71:Domain:
1090:3575080
1015:5171038
1002:1194657
848:, 2010.
618:Ecology
612:spirals
546:genetic
484:Diptera
450:discoid
391:shrubby
387:flowers
377:Habitat
334:abdomen
330:sternum
314:Argiope
278:Argiope
274:Argiope
250:Argiope
232:Argiope
227:Vanuatu
215:species
213:, is a
197:, 1841)
156:Argiope
151:Genus:
125:Araneae
121:Order:
111:Class:
1087:uBio:
1080:854793
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963:480092
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650:toxins
492:pollen
409:Mating
395:plants
393:, and
219:spider
1131:This
1036:IRMNG
803:S2CID
643:venom
634:Venom
1137:stub
1062:NCBI
1049:ITIS
1010:GBIF
989:GGYW
971:BOLD
763:2018
607:webs
554:silk
548:and
401:and
270:oval
1098:WSC
997:EoL
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948:ADW
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