Females commonly about 11–15 mm; males are much smaller.
Fine-art photographic collection
Argiope bruennichi
A spider in which mating can end with both mutilation and cannibalism.
About this species
Wasp Spider
Argiope bruennichi(Scopoli, 1772)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
The wasp spider’s mating system is an extreme contest between male paternity and female predation. Tiny males approach females many times their size and have only two sperm-transfer organs, each usable once.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Arachnida · Araneae · Araneidae · Argiope
Accepted species or infraspecific taxon in the current GBIF/Catalogue of Life treatment; unsupported details have been omitted rather than inferred. · checked 2026-07-15
Palaearctic regionBroad documented range and selected occurrence localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Across much of the Palaearctic, from Europe through temperate Asia, with distribution varying by subspecies and habitat.
Grassland, field margins, wetlands and open scrub with tall vegetation.
Adults are most conspicuous in late summer.
Predatory on grasshoppers, flies and other insects caught in the web.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
Roughly four out of five males in experiments were cannibalised during their first genital insertion, and none survived a second insertion.
A male can break off part of a pedipalp inside the female, forming a genital plug that obstructs later rivals.
Some males mate while a female is moulting, exploiting the brief period when her new fangs are still too soft to kill them.
More photographs
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