Fun Silver Argiope Facts For Kids

The silver garden spider (argiope argentata) is of order Araneae, family Araneidae. It is a common arachnid found in the arid regions of South America, Central America, parts of Texas, California, and Arizona. It gets its name, silver garden, because of its appearance. It has a shiny, reflective exoskeleton that helps it stand apart.

It also plays a role in attracting prey-butterflies, moths, other insects. The males are noticeably smaller than their female counterparts. These creatures intricately design their web, which is X-shaped.

Another fascinating feature about this species is its extinction patterns. They sporadically reduce in number over some time, which has been under scientific scrutiny. Moreover, there is no or limited correlation between its population size and this behavior.

Read on to know more about its hunting and eating patterns and other morphological facts.

If you liked reading about this spider, consider our articles on yellow sac spider facts and Brazilian wandering spider facts.

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Silver Argiope Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a silver argiope?

A silver argiope, or the silver garden spider, is a type of spider of the orb-weaver family.

What class of animal does a silver argiope belong to?

The silver garden spiders (Argiope argentata) belong to the class Arachnida, which groups together many arthropods and invertebrates.

How many silver argiopes are there in the world?

The silver garden spider (Argiope argentata) is extensively found all over America and across different countries. No exact estimate is available, but it is safe to assume that their population is plenty. It does go through multiple phases of extinction and regeneration, but that is its natural cycle.

Where does a silver argiope live?

Endemic to southern California, today, silver garden spiders (Argiope argentata) are found across multiple states of the United States such as Texas, Florida, Arizona, and also across continents in Argentina and Chile. No evidence of its presence is found in Europe, though.

What is a silver Argiope's habitat?

This species of silver garden spider (Argiope argentata) is primarily attracted to dry and humid areas, which prove to be particularly conducive to its growth.

Who does silver argiope live with?

Most spiders belonging to the genus Argiope are solitary in nature. They mostly develop on their own. In fact, the silver garden spider engages in sexual cannibalism; that is, the mated female kills the male silver garden spider.

How long does a silver argiope live?

The male silver garden spider has an exceptionally short life. As this spider species engage in sexual cannibalism, it is wired into the behavior of the female to kill the male after mating. Moreover, these male and female spiders have an intriguing pattern of extinction.

Over some years, the population of female and male spiders suddenly declines to near extinction. The reason for this behavior has been unidentified. In comparison, the brown recluse spider also has a small lifespan of up to two years.

How do they reproduce?

The males and female spiders mate to produce eggs that hatch in some time. The spiderlings develop in their sac created by the female which is the same material to create its web. The silver spiders are sexual catabolism, and the male spider dies after mating.

What is their conservation status?

The silver garden spider has not been officially assessed by the IUCN Red List. However, no conservation efforts are required as the species has an abundant population across North America.

Silver Argiope Fun Facts

What does silver argiope look like?

Silver garden spiders are large orb weavers. It has a silver-colored shell and a brown abdomen. It has silver, yellow, and orange stripes on its lower body.

Its shell on the center reflects UV rays, which supposedly have the function of attracting insects and other kills. The female silver garden spider is much more intricately designed than the males. Moreover, it has a larger size than its male counterpart. It has really long legs and a dome-shaped center.

The size of silver argiope with legs is around 0.7-1.3 in (2-3.5 cm). The eggs are green in color. The silver spider possesses two sets of eyes.

How cute are they?

Spiders are hardly the creatures that can be described as cute. They are enormous, have many eyes, and a weird body structure!

How do they communicate?

Commonly, spiders like the garden spider and silver garden spider are known to rely heavily on tactile sensation because their vision is usually poor. Spiders use vibrations and air currents to navigate their life.

The silver garden spider is also known to engage in grooming behavior, giving a hint about its perception, especially during hunting. These spiders groom their legs, which may have certain chemical receptors which allow them to communicate.

How big is a silver argiope?

Obvious sexual dimorphism exists. The female of the species is usually much larger than the male spiders. The female is around 1.3 in (3.5 cm) whereas the male is 0.7 in (2 cm) in size. This species is slightly bigger than black house spiders but is only half the size of southern house spiders.

How fast can a silver argiope move?

Generally, spider species run really fast. The exact speed of the silver garden spider is unknown.

How much does a silver argiope weigh?

Spiders weigh a negligible amount; therefore, this information is not known.

What are the male and female names of the species?

The spider species do not have distinct male and female names.

What would you call a baby silver argiope?

A baby silver argiope can be called a spiderling.

What do they eat?

The silver garden spider is deft at hunting. It attracts prey using the reflecting UV shield on the center of its body. Moreover, it makes use of UV reflecting on weaving its web as well. Most of its diet consists of insects, butterflies, and moths.

It paralyzes its prey either using a short bite or a long bite. After which, the spiders wrap them in silk and to its web. The female of the species is also known to eat the males.

Are they poisonous?

Spider venom is used to immobilize the recipient, which it delivers via a short and long bite. However, silver garden spider (Argiope argentata) venom does not affect humans or our pets, for that matter, the same way. It is safe to assume that these spiders will not harm humans.

Would they make a good pet?

Certainly, having a spider as a pet is a strange choice, but it is not uncommon. However, silver garden spiders are not known to be great pets. Rather, spiders like tarantulas are much more common among pet keepers.

Did you know...

As the Argiope argentata (silver garden) spiders are a part of the orb-weaver family, they can produce more than seven types of silk. These differ because they are released from different glands and have distinct compositions.

How does their web work?

As orb weavers, this species of spiders spin webs with the shape X at the center of the web. This is also known as weaving stabilimenta into webs.

Once the web is made, the spider rests in the middle of the web, aligning its feet with the stabilimenta. Webs of the spiders also play the function of providing water to the silver garden spider. The presence of water droplets on the web is irrespective of the environmental conditions.

How many eyes do they have?

The Argiope argentata (silver garden spider) has two sets of eyes, viz-a-viz primary and secondary. In spite of this, they do not have good eyesight.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other spiders from our six-eyed sand spider facts and orb-weaver spider facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable silver argiope coloring pages.