Argiope aetherea

Argiope aetherea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Araneidae
Genus:	Argiope
Species:	A. aetherea
Binomial name
Argiope aetherea (Walckenaer, 1841) [1]
Synonyms [1]
List Epeira aethereaWalckenaer, 1841 Argiope regalisL. Koch, 1871 Argiope variabilis Bradley, 1876 Argiope lunataBradley, 1876 Argiope browniiO. Pickard-Cambridge, 1877 Argiope verecundaThorell, 1878 Argiope aetherea(Walckenaer, 1841) Argiope friedericiiStrand, 1911 Argiope wolfiStrand, 1911 Argiope maerensKulczyński, 1911 Argiope udjiricaStrand, 1911 Argiope wogeonicolaStrand, 1913 Gea rotundaHogg, 1915 Argiope novae-pommeraniaeStrand, 1915

Argiope aetherea is a common, large orb-web spider (family Araneidae). Like other species of Argiope , it is commonly known as the St Andrew's Cross spider, due to the characteristic cross-shaped web decorations female spiders often include in their webs. A. aetherea is similar in appearance to A. keyserlingi, however female A. aetherea are generally larger than A. keyserlingi. ^[2] Like most orb-web spiders, A. aetherea shows considerable sexual size dimorphism, with females being many times larger than males.

Distribution

Argiope aetherea is found from China to Australia. ^[1]

Subspecies

There exists a subspecies from New Guinea:

• Argiope aetherea annulipes Thorell, 1881

Gallery

• 
  Argiope aetherea with cross shaped web decoration
• 
  Argiope aetherea (female, ventral)
• 
  Female, dorsal
• 
  Same spider, ventral
• 
  Argiope aetherea

References

1. "Taxon details Argiope aetherea (Walckenaer, 1841)", World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern, retrieved 2016-05-07
2. Levi H. W. (1983). "The Orb-Weaver Genera Argiope, Gea, and Neogea from the Western Pacific Region (Araneae: Araneidae, Argiopinae)" (PDF). MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. Harvard University. Retrieved 2017-11-26.