About Argiope picta L.Koch, 1871
Argiope picta is a species of orb web spider first described by L. Koch in 1871. It can be found in tropical regions ranging from Queensland, Australia through Papua New Guinea to the Moluccas. This species is similar in body size to Argiope aetherea, a closely related species that shares the same geographic range. Females of A. picta can be easily told apart from female A. aetherea by major differences in the coloration and patterns on their abdomens. However, males of these two species are almost impossible to distinguish from one another. Not much information has been recorded about the biology of A. picta. Like the majority of orb-web spiders, A. picta males are far smaller than females of the species. Female A. picta build silk decorations into their orb webs. Most A. picta from Australia construct these decorations as a single vertical line running above and below the central hub of the web. In contrast, A. picta from Papua New Guinea build decorations in the characteristic X shape typical of St Andrew's Cross spiders. It is currently unknown why members of the same species build these different decoration patterns, though the difference may be connected to differences in habitat between the two regions.
