Hawaiian garden spider - aka the banana spider

 

Arigope appensa - Photographed in Maui


I remember seeing garden spiders when I was a boy in Ontario.  The field across from us was lit up with their backlit dew-covered webs each morning in the fall.  Large black, yellow, and white beasts that would send chills down the spine of anyone brave enough to contemplate walking through the gauntlet of insect-trapping snares blocking the path.  You needed to be made of sterner stuff than I to accomplish such a feat.

While on Maui, I was surprised to find such a creature on the plantation we were visiting  I expected to see birds, cattle, pineapples, mangos, and maybe a few butterflies (lots of monarchs there).  But coming face to face with my childhood nemesis was not on my mind.  And yet there it was.

The Hawaiian garden spider is a native of southern islands in the Pacific including Indonesia.  Like many other species, it was introduced to Hawaii through sailors visiting from abroad.  The female (shown above) is a large yellow-bodied spider with black and white appendages and head.  The male is brown and much smaller (I never found one, but you can see an image here).  The species is not dangerous to humans and is used as a form of pest control.

I also got a pretty good shot of it from the other side.  You can see that photo below.


Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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