May 26, 2007
Spider story continues
My spider continues to keep house outside the lanai. I’ve learned a little more about her since I first posted her picture a few days ago. Apparently she is Argiope appensa, which was introduced to Hawaii, probably from Guam. The brown tree snake has decimated the bird population on Guam and numerous insect and arachnoid populations have grown explosively due to the lack of avian predation. Despite vigorous enforcement of quarantine protocols, unwanted aliens manage to slip into Hawaii via ships, planes and containers. My visitor is still safe with me, but I may have to ship her off to a vacation home Orlando if she finds a mate. She can produce many thousands of eggs. One is okay, but I’m not interested in playing hostess to a mob. Their bite can be very painful, though their venom is relatively harmless to humans.
A. appensa, by the way, was the stand-in for the Medusa spider that paralyzed Nikki and Paulo in the Expose’ episode of Lost. Latrodectus, the genus referred to in that episode, does indeed carry a venomous neurotoxin. That genus includes the widow spiders. For some reason it was decided not to use the real Latrodectus in filming the program. 
The stabilimenta, those denser sections of the web, serve an unknown function for at least seventy-eight known species of spiders. Apparently the stabilimenta are at the center of raging controversy among arachnologists, many of whom have a pet theory as to their function. If I ever stumble across a definitive answer I’ll be sure to share it with you. 
Technorati Tags: Argiope appensa, Hawaii, Hawaii spiders, photos, spider
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May 26th, 2007 at 10:52 am, Steve Says:
I posted this picture as my desktop for a second and preceded to scare the crap out of my mother and girlfriend. I’ll be looking forward to more about the spider.
May 26th, 2007 at 9:05 pm, skeet Says:
Oh, Steve, you are a bad, bad man! I may have to ban your ISP before I post another progress photo.
May 27th, 2007 at 2:13 pm, Shelli Says:
That is one scary looking spider. But very curious the web it is building. Fascinating.
May 30th, 2007 at 4:48 pm, skeet’s stuff » Sad spider Says:
[…] target=”_blank”>six days ago and provided some updated information the following day. Yesterday I noticed that her web was looking a little ragged, and today […]