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Signature Spider Hatchlings
Argiope luzona
15.4561, 119.922
Field Notes
Description:
This egg sac had been created by a female Argiope luzona that I had been observing for a few days days. Yesterday, when I went to check on the mother spider and her egg sac, I walked round to the back of the mother's web (I could not get a view of the sac from the front) and everything was as it had been the day before. I knew that the babies would be emerging sometime soon because it was, by my reckoning, the last day of incubation, but it can vary by a day or two. So, I walked back round to the front to see how the mother was doing. I always look at the condition of her web and stabilimentum, any wrapped prey insects and I was also looking out for a male which had arrived on the scene two days ago. .. continued in Notes below.
Habitat:
These hatchling spiders, emerging from their egg sac, were spotted in our backyard. The egg sac was attached by several silk threads to the twigs and leaves of a small sapling Mahogany tree, close to the mother spider's web which was moored on the same sapling.
Notes:
The mother was not on her web and there was no sign of the male. After looking around for a few minutes, I gave up. There is no way that I can be sure of what happened, but i suspect that the female was snatched by a predator because the web was damaged and there was no sign of the male. He probably witnessed the predatory attack and skedaddled. So, I went round to the back again, for another look at the egg sac and there they were, hundreds of hatchlings. They had all been emerging while I was looking for the mother. As far as I know, Argiope mothers do not seem to display any parental skills and these hatchilings were always destined to take care of themselves, come what may.
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