# Spider ID- saw this spider on Kaua'i **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 21, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id-saw-this-spider-on-kauai/540277 "2010-05-21T17:23:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id-saw-this-spider-on-kauai/540277/1 "2010-05-21T17:23:41Z")
[Close-up.](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/annewaldron/Screenshot2010-05-21at81549AM.png) About 6" long. Googled and couldn’t find it anywhere. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Taenia\_spp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@Taenia\_spp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taenia_spp)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id-saw-this-spider-on-kauai/540277/2 "2010-05-21T17:34:58Z")
Can’t give you an ID, unfortunately, but that one looks gorgeous! ---
**Author:** ![notsoheavyd3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85e7bf/32.png) [@notsoheavyd3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notsoheavyd3)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id-saw-this-spider-on-kauai/540277/3 "2010-05-21T18:13:02Z")
Looks like a variation on the old yellow and black garden spider. (Definitely looks like an argiope.) I mean if it wasn’t for the color I’d think it was this one. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argiope\_aurantia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argiope_aurantia) ---
**Author:** ![CrimeThink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90db22/32.png) [@CrimeThink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrimeThink)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id-saw-this-spider-on-kauai/540277/4 "2010-05-21T18:14:47Z")
My guess is that it’s a Argiope appensa. They are usually black and yellow but some are black and white like this. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id-saw-this-spider-on-kauai/540277/5 "2010-05-21T19:17:21Z")
Yes, looks similar to those mentioned. Its body was more globe-shaped than oblong, which is the only thing that was throwing me off on the ID. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id-saw-this-spider-on-kauai/540277/6 "2010-05-21T20:43:20Z")
Allow me to be the first to say… GAAAAAH! SPIDER!!! ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id-saw-this-spider-on-kauai/540277/7 "2010-05-21T21:54:12Z")
😃 The only thing worse than imagining having one of these spiders on you is imagining the mess it would make if you stepped on one! Wait, that’s not worse than having one on you. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id-saw-this-spider-on-kauai/540277/8 "2010-05-21T23:38:40Z")
> [@notsoheavyd3](#): > > Looks like a variation on the old yellow and black garden spider. (Definitely looks like an argiope.) I mean if it wasn’t for the color I’d think it was this one. > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argiope\_aurantia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argiope_aurantia) Yeah, but the one in the OP is 6 inches long. Argiope is, maybe, an inch. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id-saw-this-spider-on-kauai/540277/9 "2010-05-22T00:17:40Z")
I think these are similar species to your Hawaiian critters. I can’t remember where this photo came from so I have no idea who, what, where, when. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/prehenpen/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/prehenpen/) ---
**Author:** ![notsoheavyd3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85e7bf/32.png) [@notsoheavyd3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notsoheavyd3)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id-saw-this-spider-on-kauai/540277/10 "2010-05-22T04:22:49Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Yeah, but the one in the OP is 6 inches long. Argiope is, maybe, an inch. Well to clarify the body on an argiope is about an inch. The legs would add a bit to that. However the spider he shows is a web builder and that’s pretty much as big as they get. Actually a nephila might be a little bigger, maybe 1.5 inches for the body. (BTW, that’s what was shown in another reply.) Seriously, if he actually found a spider with a body 6 inches in length it’s basically one of the largest spiders on the planet and would greatly dwarf any other web builder. (It’d be roughly 50 times heavier than a nephilia.) ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id-saw-this-spider-on-kauai/540277/11 "2010-05-22T14:47:11Z")
> [@notsoheavyd3](#): > > Well to clarify the body on an argiope is about an inch. The legs would add a bit to that. However the spider he shows is a web builder and that’s pretty much as big as they get. Actually a nephila might be a little bigger, maybe 1.5 inches for the body. (BTW, that’s what was shown in another reply.) Seriously, if he actually found a spider with a body 6 inches in length it’s basically one of the largest spiders on the planet and would greatly dwarf any other web builder. (It’d be roughly 50 times heavier than a nephilia.) Yes, I was including the whole “wingspan” in the length. I would say the body was between 1 1/4" and 1 1/2" in length. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id-saw-this-spider-on-kauai/540277/12 "2010-05-23T08:09:20Z")
Seriously, **brujaja** , how could it be a surprise? It’s twice in the thread title and on mouseover it should be clear there’s a link to a spider picture. Anyway, my parents had one of those near their gate on Oahu. Same size, slightly brighter colors. We called it a garden spider. Does that mean you missed the spiderweb-covered trees? 🙂