Epic Battle - NH 003

NH 003

Banded Garden Spider

Category: Arachnids

Family: Araneidae

So, it's Saturday and I think I'll continue on with Spider Saturday here at the Sholesonian. Today is a very interesting piece that I personally collected, interesting in both how big it is and the story about how I captured it. First off, I can tell you that this is a Banded Garden Spider (Argiope trifasciata) after I mis-identified it as a Common Black and Yellow Garden Spider (thanks Kayla). Second, I should tell you how I go about collecting my spider collections. I use those plastic cups with lids that normally are used for taking ketchup and other condiments for on the go, and I just scoop them up when I find them.

Now, for this particular guy I was walking from one class to another and spotted him on a bush next to Goldwin-Smith, Cornell University, Ithaca in mid-September. He was so big and different from the other spiders I have that I had to catch him, and luckily I had an empty cup with me. The unfortunate thing was that he (and I'm only using he because I actually don't know the gender) had just managed to capture lunch in his web, a common bee (NH 024) and had just started to envelop it. But I had to get to my next class so I just scooped them both up in the cup and continued on to class. The thing was that the bee would not stop buzzing and they were in some sort of epic battle in my pocket. It was amusing as when the whole room was silent all you could hear were the two of them 'fighting.' Anyway, that's the reason why he has lost two legs. And that white stuff that is in the vial is I guess 'guts.'

So anyway, hope you enjoy this awesome addition to the collection. And on a side note I went to Insectapalooza today and was able to identify some of the mystery insects of my collection and get some interesting information on their lifestyle/behavior so expect at least one of them in the coming week. Oh, and if you want to learn more about Argiope trifasciata, check out this link and you can actually see what it's like for one of them to successfully capture a bee.