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Species Account for Argiope bruennichi

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Argiope bruennichi  (Scopoli, 1772)
Araneae: Araneidae

Argiope bruennichi with egg case. Copyright: Colin Simpson

 
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Taxonomic group: spiders (Araneae) - County data

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Records: 539
First Record: 1997
Latest Record: 2024

1992-on hectads: 45
Pre-1992 hectads: 0
Total hectads: 45

Additional Phenology Data

Images

Wasp Spider - Underneath
Wasp Spider - Underneath
Wasp Spider on Michaelmas Daisies
Wasp Spider on Michaelmas Daisies
Argiope bruennichi (underside)
Argiope bruennichi (underside)
Argiope bruennichi with egg case.
Argiope bruennichi with egg case.
Argiope bruennichi
Argiope bruennichi
Argiope bruennichi horiz
Argiope bruennichi horiz

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National map for Argiope bruennichi on Spider and Harvestman Recording Scheme website
 
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Species text
The spider was first recorded in Britain in 1922 at Rye, East Sussex (Locket & Millidge 1951) and for many years, seemed to be restricted to a few areas close to the south coast in Sussex, Kent, Hampshire and Dorset. Since the 1970s, evidence suggests that the spider has been increasing its range, probably due to longer warmer summers and autumns, and it is now widely recorded as far north as Lincolnshire. In Essex it was first recorded in 1997, both at a site in S. Essex and at Alphamstone in N. Essex. It is currently frequent in suitable habitat the East Thames Corridor, but has also now established itself in north-east Essex. The large orb webs are slung low down in the vegetation and the adult spider is easily hidden by the surrounding herbage. Grasshoppers form the main food item. The large urn shaped egg cocoon is positioned in the higher levels of vegetation and the eggs over-winter, hatching out in the following spring. Both sexes mature in the late summer, the females perhaps living on until October but the much smaller males living for only a short time. Any form of regular cutting of grassland will destroy the webs and the over-wintering egg cocoons, presumably explaining why large populations seem to be confined to unmanaged rough grassland and waste ground (Harvey et al., 2002). References

Species text last edited on Tue Mar 20th 2007 by user 3

Habitats

Broad Habitat Data (based on 122 records with habitat information)

Broad subhabitat Data (based on 4 records with subhabitat information)

Structural Habitat Data (based on 118 records with structural habitat information)

Habitat Detail and Method (based on 539 records with habitat detail and method information)

Recorded management for locations with Argiope bruennichi

Recorded substrate and hydrology for locations with Argiope bruennichi

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Interpretation of distribution maps