Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Argiope aurantia

Argiope aurantia

9.9
A large North American garden spider with bright yellow and black markings that makes round webs
  • noun
  • /ˈɑr.dʒi.oʊp ˌɔːˈræn.tʃə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Argiope aurantia
  • The striking yellow and black markings of the Argiope aurantia make it easy to identify.

Examples

  • Many gardeners are pleased to find a Argiope aurantia weaving its intricate web among their plants.

  • I watched a Argiope aurantia capture and wrap a grasshopper in its web.

  • Look at that Argiope aurantia weaving its web!

  • I spotted an Argiope aurantia in my garden yesterday.

  • I watched a Argiope aurantia capture and wrap a grasshopper in its web.

  • Many gardeners are pleased to find a Argiope aurantia weaving its intricate web among their plants.

  • The striking yellow and black markings of the Argiope aurantia make it easy to identify.

Synonyms

black and gold garden spider
vsArgiope aurantia
  • US
8.0

A large North American spider with black and yellow markings often found in gardens

is the formal scientific name used in research and identification

Surface Forms

Argiope aurantia singular
Argiope aurantias plural

Morphology

Argiope + aurantia

This is a scientific binomial (genus + species): knowing 'Argiope' (a genus of orb-weaving spiders) lets a learner infer the phrase refers to a kind of spider, so part of the meaning is compositional. However, 'aurantia' is a Latin species epithet (no dictionary gloss provided) and its colour-specific sense ('golden/orange') is not obvious to a B1 learner, so the full meaning is not fully derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Argiope aurantia may come from old Greek and Latin words: Argiope means 'silver face' and aurantia means 'orange'. Because this garden spider has a shiny head pattern and a bright yellow-orange body, the name points to how it looks.