Wasp spider
Argiope bruennichi
A yellow-and-black banded orb-weaver. It is native in Georgia and is not a medical risk to people.
At a glance
Key facts in one look
Diet
Insects in the web
Status in Georgia
Native
Size
Female 10–22 mm
Habitat
Humid meadow / grass
Family
Araneidae
Human interaction: The spider has venom for prey. It is not a medical risk to people: bites are rare and usually only local pain or redness. This is not a viper bite. An allergic reaction to any bite is possible; if breathing, the face, or general condition worsens, call 112. Do not handle it. A web in garden grass in summer is typical; destroy it only if it blocks a path — the spider is not a pest.
Overview
What is Wasp spider
The wasp spider (Argiope bruennichi) is an orb-weaving spider in the family Araneidae. The accepted name is Argiope bruennichi (Scopoli, 1772); the original combination was Aranea brünnichii. In Georgian it is არგიოპა; the Ilia State University biodiversity database uses ბრუნიქის არგიოპა. The English name refers to the yellow and black bands on the abdomen, which resemble a wasp. Otto 2022 lists the species for Georgia and calls it very abundant in the Caucasus ecoregion. The Ilia database treats it as native and writes that it is widely distributed in Georgia. That is a country-level assessment, not even density in all twelve regions. At species level the female body is about 10–22 mm, the male about 7–8 mm. It has venom for insect prey; it is not medically significant for people. IUCN has not assessed the species. It is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List; the arachnid on that list is the fen raft spider (Dolomedes plantarius).
Last updated
Gallery
Wasp spider in photos
Photo: Andrea Bonifazi
Sibillini Mountains, Italy ·
Photo: Emmanuel Douzery
Photo: Gllawm
Brieuil-sur-Chizé, France ·
Photo: Lucarelli
Livorno, Tuscany ·
Photo: Piet Spaans
Wageningen, Netherlands ·
Identification
How to identify Wasp spider
A large orb-weaver with yellow and black cross-bands on the abdomen and often a white zigzag in the web hub. The female is much larger than the male.
- 01
At species level female body length is about 10–22 mm (Nentwig et al.); male about 7–8 mm. Legs are not included. There is no separate Georgian measurement series on this page.
- 02
The female cephalothorax (prosoma) is silvery and shiny. The abdomen (opisthosoma) is dorsally banded white or yellow on a black or dark ground — the wasp-like pattern. The underside is dark with yellow longitudinal stripes and spots. Legs are yellowish with brown rings. The male is more uniformly silver-grey or yellowish, with weaker bands.
- 03
The web is an orb, usually in grass near the ground. The hub often has a white zigzag (stabilimentum). An adult female often sits head-down in the centre. That is the fastest field cue if you can see the spider.
- 04
The same genus in Georgia includes Argiope lobata (Otto 2022 checklist). That species has lateral lobes on the abdomen and a more silvery or spotted pattern, not wasp yellow-and-black bands. Garden orb-weavers such as Araneus have a different mark, often a cross, and not these bands. Do not confuse it with a true wasp: the spider has eight legs, sits in a web, and has no wings.
- 05
This atlas has no other spider profile yet, so there is no lookalike link to another species page. The contrast with A. lobata is in the text only.
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
Look for it in low grass and humid meadow, where the female builds an orb web close to the ground. Nentwig et al. give species-level habitat as grass of humid meadows near the ground. That is not a measured Georgian elevation belt. This atlas colours regions only from named records. Otto 2022 compiles, among others, Tbilisi (Mcheidze 1964; Pkhakadze 2006), Gamarjveba east of Tbilisi (Otto 2006 and 2010; Kvemo Kartli), David Gareja / Sagarejo (Stoev and Lazarov, 20 July 2006; Kakheti), Adjara (Moritz; also Batumi, Kobuleti, Chakvi, Khulo — Mcheidze 1964), Kakheti localities Telavi, Gurjaani, Sighnaghi, Lagodekhi and Shiraki (Mcheidze 1964, 1997), Guria (Ozurgeti, Chokhatauri, Lanchkhuti, Bakhvi), Imereti (Terjola, Tkibuli, south of Kutaisi, Baghdati, Zestaponi), Samtskhe–Javakheti (Akhaltsikhe, Aspindza), Poti in Samegrelo, Abkhazia (Sukhumi, New Athos, Bichvinta–Miusera; Mcheidze 1964; Spassky 1937; Kovblyuk et al. 2011), and the Tskhinvali / Eredvi area (Ponomarev and Komarov 2015; Shida Kartli on this atlas map). Racha–Lechkhumi–Kvemo Svaneti and Mtskheta–Mtianeti are not coloured from a named record on this page. “Widely distributed” in the Ilia database does not mean it occurs in every high-mountain belt. Photos on this page were not taken in Georgia.
Diet
There is no separate Georgian diet study on this page. At species level the female takes flying and jumping insects in the orb web — wasps, flies, grasshoppers and other large invertebrates that hit the silk. Prey is wrapped, then bitten. That is the general trophic niche, not a measured Georgian menu. Do not treat it as biological control in a garden.
Behavior
By day the female often sits in the web centre, head down. The hub often has a white zigzag of silk — a stabilimentum; its function is not fully settled (prey attraction, predator warning, or making the web visible). At species level adult females are most obvious in the second half of summer. A named Georgian date is 20 July 2006 at David Gareja. A full national calendar is not measured here. Eggs are in a brown papery sac; they overwinter, and young emerge in spring. The male is much smaller and often waits at the female’s web for her last moult. The female may eat the male during mating; that is species-level behaviour, not a Georgian sample. Do not pick it up.
Conservation
EUNIS and the Ilia database give IUCN status NE (Not Evaluated). The Ilia database assigns national LC*; that is their assessment, not Government Resolution No. 190 of 2014. The official Red List arachnid is Dolomedes plantarius (VU), not this species. In northern Europe the species has expanded its range; Krehenwinkel and Tautz 2013 treat the Caucasus as a genetic diversity source, including Georgian samples from Gamarjveba, Adjara and David Gareja. A Georgian population trend is not measured on this page. Do not catch wild spiders.
Yes. Otto 2022 and the Ilia biodiversity database treat it as native in Georgia. That is country-level confirmation.
Named records include Tbilisi, Gamarjveba, David Gareja, Adjara, several Kakheti sites, Guria, Imereti, Samtskhe–Javakheti, Poti, the Abkhaz coast, and the Tskhinvali area. Look in grass and meadow in summer. Racha and Mtskheta–Mtianeti are not coloured on this page.
The female has yellow-and-black cross-bands on the abdomen and often a white zigzag in the web hub. The male is much smaller and plainer. In Georgia the similar species is Argiope lobata, which has a lobed abdomen.
At species level the female is about 10–22 mm, the male about 7–8 mm. Legs are not included. There is no Georgian series on this page.
It has venom for insects. It is not a medical risk to people. Bites are rare and usually local. Do not handle it. Call 112 if serious symptoms appear.
Adult females are most obvious in the second half of summer at species level. A named Georgian record is July at David Gareja. A full national calendar is not on this page.
IUCN has not assessed it. It is not on the 2014 Red List. The Ilia database assigns national LC* — that is their assessment, not the official list.
- World Spider Catalog — Argiope bruennichi (Scopoli, 1772)
- Nentwig et al. 2026 — Spiders of Europe, Argiope bruennichi
- Otto 2022 — Caucasian Spiders (database version 02.2022)
- Otto 2022 — Georgia country checklist
- Ilia State University — Georgian Biodiversity Database, Argiope bruennichi
- Seropian, Otto & Bulbulashvili 2023 — CaBOL spiders of Georgia, Part I
- Krehenwinkel & Tautz 2013 — Northern range expansion of Argiope bruennichi
- Lüpold et al. 2020 — Argiope bruennichi venom proteotranscriptomics
- Kosyan 2022 — First Argiope records in Armenia
- EUNIS — Argiope bruennichi (IUCN not evaluated)
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
- Wikimedia Commons — female, Monti Sibillini (Andrea Bonifazi, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — stabilimentum (Emmanuel Douzery, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — female and male, Brieuil-sur-Chizé (Gllawm, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — male, Livorno (Lucarelli, CC BY-SA 3.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — pair before mating, Wageningen (Piet Spaans, CC BY-SA 2.5)
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
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