: a genus (family Araneidae, the orb weavers) of large spiders that produce wheel-shaped webs, often have brightly-colored markings on the abdomen, and include the common black and yellow garden spider (A. aurantia)
All Argiope species have two fundamentally different attack patterns.—Michael H. Robinson, Smithsonian, October 1987
2
argiope plural argiopes: a spider of the genus Argiope
It's especially rewarding to visit the [goldenrod] patches early on dew-drenched mornings for the elaborate webs of the orb-weavers, particularly the big black-and-yellow argiopes, sometimes called garden spiders.—Ken Weber, Providence Journal, 17 Sept. 2005
Word History
Etymology
New Latin, from Greek Argiopē, nymph who was mother of the mythical bard Thamyris
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