Argiope trifasciata, also called banded garden spider in the USA, is a species of spider found around the world. In Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 you can find it in the Iberian peninsula

Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...

, Canary islands

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

, and Madeira

Madeira

Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...

. The similar looking Argiope bruennichi is common in the Azores

Azores

The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...

. Considered a pest in some areas, they usually start to appear during the Fall (Autumn), from early September till late October, when the temperatures start dropping.

Their webs can reach a diameter of about 60 cm. The length of the web will depend on the size of the spider, it can reach a total length of 2 meters.

Subspecies

• Argiope trifasciata deserticola Simon, 1906 (Sudan)
• Argiope trifasciata kauaiensis Simon, 1900 (Hawaii)

External links

• Banded Garden Spider
• BugGuide.net: Many pictures of A. trifasciata
• Diagnostic photographs and descriptions: Argiope trifasciata Creative Commons Licensed