Jul 11 - A female Argiope pulchella (I think), an Orb-weaver or Araneid, on the grounds of the Sri Sri Kedar temple, near Hajo
This looks to be a female Argiope pulchella, a species of the Orb-weaver or Araneidae spider family. Here she drinks the organs of an insect liquified by protein-dissolving enzymes in her venom.
- You can see 2 'stabilimenta', those zigzags, silk structures in the webs of some Orb-weaver species. Their function is "a subject of debate. ... [They] can appear as zig-zag lines, and most commonly come in bouts of 4 creating a centre-less X." (Wikipedia)
- This reminds me of Toronto's (un)official spider, the harmless 'Yellow Garden spider', Argipe aurantia, another orb-weaver (19-28 mm.-long females) and which I saw over and over again growing up in the city.
- "Out of thousands of spider species in India, only the bites of spiders belonging to six genera - Chilobrachys, Loxosceles, Latrodectus, Macrothele, Poecilotheria and Cheiracanthium (comprising < 2% of the spider population in India) - have been recorded to require treatment beyond first aid." (india.mongabay.com)
Jul 11 - A female Argiope pulchella (I think), an Orb-weaver or Araneid, on the grounds of the Sri Sri Kedar temple, near Hajo
This looks to be a female Argiope pulchella, a species of the Orb-weaver or Araneidae spider family. Here she drinks the organs of an insect liquified by protein-dissolving enzymes in her venom.
- You can see 2 'stabilimenta', those zigzags, silk structures in the webs of some Orb-weaver species. Their function is "a subject of debate. ... [They] can appear as zig-zag lines, and most commonly come in bouts of 4 creating a centre-less X." (Wikipedia)
- This reminds me of Toronto's (un)official spider, the harmless 'Yellow Garden spider', Argipe aurantia, another orb-weaver (19-28 mm.-long females) and which I saw over and over again growing up in the city.
- "Out of thousands of spider species in India, only the bites of spiders belonging to six genera - Chilobrachys, Loxosceles, Latrodectus, Macrothele, Poecilotheria and Cheiracanthium (comprising < 2% of the spider population in India) - have been recorded to require treatment beyond first aid." (india.mongabay.com)