Silver argiope
Argiope argentata
Araneae: Araneidae

This spectacular orb-weaving spider is common in Southern California in the Fall, especially on prickly-pear plants. The male is much smaller than the female. The spider includes zig-zag structures called stabilimenta in the orb web, probably in order to make it more visible to birds who might otherwise fly into it accidentally and destroy it.

Copyright: Peter J. Bryant (pjbryant@uci.edu)
Original available from Biological Photo Service.
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