I recently went on holiday to Cyprus and in our garden close to the pool we spotted this really intimidating looking spider. I know this isnt actually my garden but since we had the villa 2 weeks i thought this would count. if anyone knows what spider this is me and my family would love to hear from you. I have researched loads of pages on spiders but i couldnt find any that looked exactly like this one only some similarities. Thanks!
Heres another photo from the front of the spider.
This is a harmless (to humans) orb weaving spider (family Araneidae); specifically, it appears to be Argiope lobata, known as the lobed argiope - see http://tinyurl.com/25fwygr for some images. As these spiders, like most of their ilk, can demonstrate considerable individual variation, it is not surprising that you would not find an exact match.
hoshihikari28
I think your spider is the Lobed Argiope - Argiope lobata: http://www.wildsideholidays.com/natural/insects-and-creepy-crawlies/91-spiders-etc/198-lobed-argiope-argiope-lobata.html
We have a page for it in BugFiles here: http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/go/5788/
and would be pleased if you would add your pictures to that page,
Kennedy
This message was edited Jul 14, 2010 3:36 PM
Thanks both of you! I have been wanting to find out what it is for ages =]
