Signature Spider

Araneidae; Argiope luzona (Walckenaer, 1842). The spider shown here is a sub-adult male Argiope luzona. It is very small, approximately 6 mm. (front to back, body length only, excluding legs). It has created a discoid stabilimentum (web decoration). Sub-adult females also make discoid web decorations. Male and female sub-adults look very similar, but there is a simple way to know if you are looking at a male or a female. The cephalothorax of the female is much smaller than its abdomen, but the male's cephalothorax is the same size (or slightly bigger) than its abdomen.