Subject: Hawaiian Argiope
Location: Waimea Canyon, Hawaii (Kauai)
December 2, 2014 12:13 am
Hi, I have another photo of the large Argiope spiders that seem to be as-yet-unidentified – this one was in a web at Waimea canyon. Photo taken 11/29/14.
If you happen to come up with an ID for this critter, please e-mail me!
-DavidR
Signature: Hawaiian nature nerd
Dear Hawaiian nature nerd,
This particular Argiope species, which we first posted in 2007, has still not been identified. Due to the remote location of these Argiope sightings, we suspect this is a species endemic to the island, which is something of a rarity in 21st Century Hawaii which has so many introduced species. We did a search and found a YouTube video identifying Argiope avara kauaiensis as a native species. We also located an images on Spiders.us and Google Plus. These are all newer posings than our original posting from 2007.
We just saw one of these in Kokee. Her legs were 4-5 in across:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mandy-and-john/16241353483/in/set-72157651003582307
Spotted one of these on Big Island today. 10-13-15. Took a picture since I’ve never seen this one before. In Kona.
Just found one at the haena beach women’s restroom….. up high….took a pic…. it sure how to post here.
You may submit images by using the Ask What’s That Bug? link on our site.
Photographed this Argiope, March 21, 2017 on the Pihea Trail, Koke’e State Park, Kaua’i.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/32752434@N07/33583793855/in/album-72157670534939508/