Bruennichi's Argiope, Argiope bruennichi
Body size
Female to 24mm; male to 7mm.
Appearance
Sometimes called the wasp spider because of the black and yellow (and white) banding on the female's abdomen (photo). The carapace is silvery and the legs are banded dark and pale.
Habitat, range and season
Grassy places, roadsides and woodland edges. Europe (as far north as England and Sweden), S Asia, China and Japan. Adults occur from June to September.
Web
A vertical orb; usually with a single zig-zag band through the centre.
First recorded in the UK
1922.
Bite report
A relatively scarce newcomer to the UK but related species of Argiope are known to cause immediate local pain, spreading to the groin (Bucherl, 1971).
