Argiope spider

Argiope sp.

This is one of the most colorful spiders that I come across, it is also a spider that frustrates me when trying to find an accurate ID. I have four variations of this arachnid in my photo collection. The closest that I can find is argiope modesta.

There is another spider, argiope mangal that looks very similar, but that lives in swamps and is only 5mm in length whereas this specimen is 15mm in length. There is so much misrepresentation of argiopes on the web it makes me laugh. I want to reply to them all and call them idiots, but life is too short.

Dave