Wasp Spider - a poisonous insect with a bright appearance

The wasp spider belongs to the family of orbiting spiders. Its web is very remarkable - the picture consists of zigzag broken lines. Such a trapping network can be found, as a rule, in areas well-lit by the sun among bushes and herbaceous plants. This species is most common in central and southern parts of Europe.

Description

The wasp spider, or argiope bruennichi, is a fairly large insect. Representatives of this species have pronounced sexual dimorphism: females are much larger than males. In adult females, the average body size is 3 cm, but sometimes larger insects are also found. Males are much smaller - their body length, as a rule, does not exceed 0.5 cm.
The wasp spider has a rather bright color on the abdomen - it is covered alternating yellow and black stripes. Six grooves are located along the edges of the abdomen - in this area you can see the spread of colors from orange to darker, almost brown. The head is black. On the cephalothorax there are short hairs of an ashy shade. The legs are long, black, surrounded by a pattern in the form of pale yellow rings.

On a note! A similar color is unique to females. Males are much less expressive - their body is usually black or gray!

Lifestyle

Representatives of this species prefer to live in small groups, 20 individuals in each. They settle in fields and meadows, in forest zones, as well as in other places with dense vegetation. At the same time, they choose open areas that are well visible and warmed up by the sun.

To build a web, these insects choose a large spreading plant or build it between several shrubs. A spider takes about an hour to make one hunting net, and the construction process itself always falls on the twilight time of the day. The central part of the web consists of stabilization - a pair of clearly visible threads located opposite each other, which diverge from the middle.

It is interesting! The web of argiope bruennichi has the ability to reflect ultraviolet rays and it attracts insects pretty well!

The finished hunting net is very beautiful - it has small cells arranged in a zigzag pattern. And in its center is always a spider that looks like a wasp. The hostess is located on the underside of the web, widely spreading her long legs, and patiently waits for the next victim to fall into the trap.

Food

The basis of the diet of the wasp spider is insects, both orthoptera, and others. Most often in the placed network fall:

• grasshoppers;
• flies;
• mosquitoes;
• butterflies;
• fillies;
• wasps.

The victim caught in the web begins to twitch, which attracts a hunter located nearby. The spider immediately approaches, thrusts its jaws into the body of the prey and paralyzes the captured insect with poison. As soon as the victim freezes, the hunter deftly wraps it in a web, bites off the restraining threads and hides it in a secluded place.

After some time, the poison, which contains digestive enzymes, softens the victim’s body, after which the spider starts a meal.

Breeding

The female becomes sexually mature immediately after molting. She discards the old chitinous cover and allows the male to impregnate it, and then eats it.

On a note! Scientists still can not come to a consensus for what reason she does it.Some believe that in this way she tries to saturate her body with protein, which is necessary for normal gestation of eggs. Others believe that the natural reflex is triggered - the female eats the male because of incompatibility in size, that is, acts on the principle of natural selection, when large individuals destroy small ones!

A female spider with a wasp-like color does masonry about a month after mating. She weaves several cocoons from the web and lays about 400 eggs in each. She hangs all cocoons near her hunting net and soon dies.

Future offspring spends in a dense warm cocoon all winter. With the arrival of heat, young growth leaves eggs, and spends some time in close proximity to the cocoon. During this period, many spiders die and there is only one reason - the overpopulation of the territory, because of which there is not enough food for everyone. Thus, some packs die of starvation, while others are eaten by their brothers.

Survivors leave their homes around August. In windy weather, they fly around the surrounding area using their web. In autumn, young growth reaches puberty.

Danger

The poison of a wasp spider is deadly for insects, but for humans it is practically harmless. In this case, deliberately argiope bruennichi does not attack people. This insect can only be bitten by accident if disturbed by picking it up. On the affected area may occur:

• small swelling;
• redness;
• burning;
• itching
• pain.

But these symptoms often go away very quickly. If after a bite of a spider-wasp, you begin to worry about unpleasant sensations, then for the speedy healing, something cold is applied to the affected area. After such a compress, the pain subsides and swelling goes away.

In general, the poison of a spider-wasp for a person is rather weak. However, sometimes, in particular, with weak immunity, the negative reaction of the body can be quite intense. In such cases, anti-inflammatory ointments usually help. Dangerous poison argiope bruennichi for humans can only be in the presence of allergies to insect bites. In this situation, you should definitely seek qualified medical help.