Disclaimer: I AM NOT A BIOLOGIST OR A NATURAL SCIENTIST! I like to ID spiders (Argiope in particular) but I am just an amateur. I am happy being tagged, but maybe you would prefer to tag actual spider experts (@ajott @esant @alexkerr @paolosol @naufalurfi @jjspiders @e16 @djringer ... I am keeping this list updated when I can :) )

I am a geologist and just an hobbyist naturalist. For work, I spend a lot of time mapping remote or wild areas and I often have to go off trail or in the macchia, where I encounter many critters of all kinds.

I have always enjoyed photographing them or annotating some cool encounters on my field book, but honestly did not know much about them until I discovered Inaturalist.

I started using Inaturalist during a research stay in Japan. There, I was walking uphill in mountain streams in the forested areas of Shikoku, finding arachnids, reptiles, amphibians, and even traces of small mammals every day.

But at some point the Naturalist part took over... so a lot of observations I post now are things I actually looked for in the place where I live.

Spiders are my favorite taxon - and I love the genus Argiope the most.

If you like rocks, here is my website: https://geologyistheway.com/

Oh, and if you want to help with my observations that are not RG, you are more than welcome!

IDENTIFICATION POLICY
I only ID Argiope sp. - I sometimes suggest other spiders if they are not Argiopes, but please wait for confirmation by experts.

I also like to ID Trichonephila clavata and can help eventually in distinguishing T. clavata from similar species.

FAQ on common issues.

Argiope argentata vs Argiope blanda:
-A good shot of the epigyne is needed. In doubt, I will ID to genus A. argentata-looking things from Central America.

Argiope lobata vs Argiope sector vs Argiope ahngeri:
-I assume it is the more widespread Argiope lobata, unless A. sector is reported nearby on the map (in which case epigyne is needed). In the Arabian peninsula, A. sector seems to be more common, so I will do the opposite. For A. ahngeri in central Asia, please tag @talgar-t64

Argiope versicolor - pulchella - jinghongensis - pulchelloides in SE Asia. Very hard to tell them apart without a microscopical study of the epigyne. A. pulchella seems to be the only one present in India (Levi, 1983), except for East India. In SE Asia and Sumatra, all these similar-looking species coexist, so I will ID them only to genus. In the rest of Indonesia and Malaysia, there is only A. versicolor (unless proven otherwise!). In any case the experts on this issue are @naufalurfi @alexkerr and @xiaodoudou . I recommend @alexkerr also for species from the Asia-Pacific area.

Australian Argiopes
A. keyserlingi and A. aetherea can be distinguished but I am honestly not good at it, so please ask @benkurek__ or @matthew_connors

Argiope levii - flavipalpis - Africa
A. flavipalpis is the only species in W Africa, but the similar-looking A. levii is present in E Africa. Again, in the latter case I ID only to genus.

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