Signature Spider (male)

This appears to be a full grown adult male Signature Spider, in prime condition. It is very much smaller than an adult female. It also lacks the fancy colours and stripes of the female. So, until quite recently, if I saw a male and female Argiope luzona in close proximity, I had no idea that they were of the same species. However, this great sexual dimorphism is not the only problem that beginners, like me, encounter with A. luzona (and other Argiope species). When these spiders are very young juveniles, it is difficult to recognise their gender because in the early stages of their development, the males and females look almost identical. However, after the last moult the cephalothorax of the the male quite suddenly grows much bigger, in relation to the size of its abdomen. That immediately differentiates the males from the females which always have a much smaller cephalothorax (in relation to the size of the abdomen). There is one other reliable identifier for males (at an even earlier stage), that is the pedipalps. Even in very young males, they are quite enormous, a dead give-away that you are looking at a male, but only if you are lucky enough to see them. They are usually tucked away underneath.