Subject: Black & Yellow Argiope male, Argiope aurantia, Family Araneidae

Location: Upshur County, West Virginia

Stock Number: MVB-32

Comments: An interesting feature of the Argiope's web to watch for is an area called the stabilimenta (in the belief that it helps stabilize the web). This area starts as a small round area filled in with many zig-zags. Over time the stabilimenta evolves into one big and prominent zig-zag.

Spider specialists debate the function of the stabilimenta. Certainly in its small, circular form it can provide a hiding place for spiderlings or a single young spider. Both the small circle and the larger zig-zag may also function as a visual warning to keep birds from blundering into a web they wouldn't otherwise see.