Banded Garden Spider: How to identify

The Banded Garden spider looks very intimidating. And this spider can quickly kill a paper wasp by rapidly wrapping it in silk before injecting it with venom, but its bite is not medically significant to humans.

Banded garden spider: Identification.

The banded garden spider (Agriope trifasciata) female may reach up to 1.0 inches in length, making them slightly smaller than the yellow garden spider. Its carapace is adorned with silvery hair. Its elongated oval abdomen tapers off at the posterior into a point without humps or notches like the yellow garden spider.

The background color on its abdomen is usually pale yellow/silver, along with multiple black lateral stripes for contrast. At the same time, their legs are also marked by lighter spots or bands among a paler hue of yellow.

Males of this species rarely exceed .2 inches in length, their abdomens a striking white. Immature banded garden spiders boast an almost entirely white dorsal surface to the abdomen. Furthermore, these arachnids’ egg sacs possess a similar texture and color as that of the yellow garden spider.

Banded garden spiders: Reproduction and web building.

Adult Banded garden spiders can be observed from mid-summer to the first frost. Once autumn approaches, they lay egg sacs containing hundreds of eggs that hatch and mature into juvenile spiders during springtime.

Through a behavioral investigation of web building, it was discovered that most Argiope trifasciata orient their webs in an east-to-west direction. The spiders then position themselves head down at the center with their abdomens facing south. This strategic positioning is assumed to provide maximum solar warmth for the spider late in the year when they are most active due to its predominantly black venter coloration.

The bite from a Banded garden spider is generally as mild as a bee or wasp sting, and many people don’t experience any discomfort.