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| The 'Botter Spinnekop' (Argiope Australis) |
The Botter Spinnekop, as it is known in some parts of South Africa, is also known as the Argiope Australis.
From what I gather their venom is not known to be harmful to man, and the only way they can really bite you is by trying to take them from their web. They are pretty beneficial for keeping down insect numbers.
Here is some more information from other websites:
"The larger female has a
yellow and black scalloped abdomen. The legs are thin and black
striped. They support the spider to normally hang upside down with its
two back and two front legs together. From a distance the spider appears
to have four instead of eight legs. The head is silvery grey. The males
are far smaller and quite insignificant in comparison.
These spiders are harmless to man."
"A common spider found in many gardens and in the fynbos where it builds
its characteristic orb web with a zig-zag white silk cross pattern in
the centre."
"The female Argiope spends her time hanging head down in the
centre of her web, her two pairs of forelegs held together and stretched
out forwards mirrored by the hind two pairs stretching out backwards,
forming an X."
"The Black and Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope australis) is a common
spider found in in the fynbos and is a member of the orb-web group of
spiders. The larger female has a yellow and black scalloped abdomen.
These spiders are harmless to man. They construct large wheel-like webs
(orbs). As a diurnal species they continually repair their webs, using
them for a number of days. The webs, mainly stretched across bushes, are
normally built within one metre of the ground. The webs occupy the
aerial passage amongst vegetation in the path of flying insects. The
spider sits on the web waiting for prey to get trapped."
I have some nice pictures of them in my garden if anyone is interested.
ReplyDeleteWhy the zic zac in the web
ReplyDeleteNormally where weak or torn spots were found in the web, zig zag is way of reinforcing the structural integrity of the web at these spots.
DeleteI have 1 male and 1 female in the garden next to each other
ReplyDeleteI discovered this beautiful creature yesterday, 2 meters from my front door. Although scared of spiders I am intrigued by this one and watching it on a daily basis. Glad to know it's not harmful to man
ReplyDeleteHi Nana - couldn't help going through all the trouble to get signed in here ... yet I had to add this, because I felt like this was also (so) me in your comment above :-)
DeleteI've been watching the specimen (also 2m from my front door) for the last 4-5 months. Then came the rain and she was gone, for 3 days. Last night I found her crawling up to my front door - probably towards the light on the porch, but it seemed like she was asking for help. Almost got tears in my eyes as we caught her gently and placed her back onto the web. We'll see what happens when the rain comes again...