This may come as a shock to you, but Billy the spider is actually a girl! She belongs to the Argiope genus, in which (as in most spider genera) the girls are big and brightly colored, while the males are small, dull colored and often eaten after mating. Some of the lucky fellows made it onto a Wikipedia picture however. Check out the difference! The web reinforcements that you have nicely captured in your photo are very characteristic for this genus. Billy's European cousin Bertha recently moved into our backyard and I managed to take a nice picture on a sunny day. Unfotunately I scared it, so it moved to a corner of its web, making it unable for me to catch those nice web reinforcements in the frame.
This species (Argiope bruenichi) is a relative newcomer to the Dutch fauna and its territorial expanse northward is often regarded as a result of climate change.
Suggestion: would it be nice to add a forum for identification and nomenclature for organisms in other categories than birds?
Info: Panasonic DMC-FZ18, handheld, focal length 83 mm (500mm equivalent), macro modus, ISO 100, F/4.2, exp 1/40 sec., pattern metering, no exposure compensation.
Digital processing: Corel Photopaint, 50% cropping, contrast, brightness, intensity slightly increased, adaptive unsharp mask (50%).
Good idea on the ID forum suggestion. Will kick it around and see if we can come up with an expert. When I run into trouble I use BugGuide.net Simple post an image and will get an ID I believe this site if for North American bugs. I'm sure there is one for your bugs.
Good looking spider Only wish the head was more tilted to have a better view but do like it a lot !! Sure hope you have another encounter with Billy!!!
Hi Jerry,
Very nice capture, I like your composition. Thank you so much for the info...:) We always learn something new every day...:D Thanks again. I was always under the impression that the male was the largest of the species...I stand corrected. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your crawly friends from your neck of the woods...:)
Billy is actually a girl!
