Banded Orb-weaving Spider Argiope trifasciata (Forsskål, 1775)

(after Levi 1983): The dorsum of the abdomen is oval and has transverse black lines. The two ventral paraxial lines. include a black area containing a variable number of pairs of white patches. Unlike females of other species, the anterior bulge of the epigynum lacks the distinct rims which fuse into the septum, and instead the septum anteriorly overhangs the rim. Posterodorsally, the septum widens into a bottle-shaped posterior plate. Within the depression, the posterior plate is wide and hollowed out on each side. Unlike that of other species of the region, the conductor and embolus coil and face ventrally; the median apophysis has only a minute filamentous spur on its edge.

Recent molecular analyses suggest that the previously considered cosmopolitan A. trifasciata consists of five monophyletic clades that could be considered separate species, with the Australian representatives not conspecific with populations of the Old World, where the species was originally described from (Abel et al. 2020). If this holds true, Argiope plana L. Koch, 1871 may be the earliest available name for the Australian species pending a review of all available synonyms.

Holotype, female, Cairo (Egypt) (after Levi 1983).

• Australian Capital Territory
• New South Wales
• Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands
• Northern Territory
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Victoria
• Western Australia

• New Zealand
• Papua New Guinea