Banded argiope spider Argiope trifasciata on Crete

A spider found by Honeyguide’s group in April 2026 turns out to be an unusual record, namely a species only recently recorded on Crete.

The group, when at Phaestos (or Festos or Phaistos – it depends how you transliterate the Greek) on 10 April, found a female wasp spider that had caught a swallowtail butterfly.

Banded argiope (or banded garden spider) Argiope trifasciata, with swallowtail butterfly.

I managed to drop down the bank behind the spider and swallowtail to get a photo of the upper (dorsal) side. The photo collage shows this, with group members looking on.

It didn’t look quite right to be the same wasp spider species that I know in the UK. Google Images and the Seek app (iNaturalist) both suggested Argiope trifasciata, with an English name of banded garden spider. I later found the alternative name of banded argiope. As the Argiope genus includes other wasp spiders, this seems a better English name.

The difference in appearance is that wasp spider, Argiope bruennichi has wiggly bits among the edges of the black lines between the yellow and the white lines. On banded argiope, Argiope trifasciata, and my photo, the lines are roughly parallel, or curved towards the rear end; bands, you could say.

The intriguing questions come from the range of Argiope trifasciata, originally an American species. Wikipedia notes that it is native to North and South America, but now found around the world, and in Europe it can be found on the Iberian Peninsula, the Canary Islands, and Madeira. This chimes with where I’ve seen it before on Honeyguide holidays, namely Tarifa (8 March 2024), Morocco (19 March 2026), Madeira (10 & 14 October 2018) and Menorca (11 October 2022).

But what about Crete / Greece? An internet search found a paper entitled Spiders of Crete (Araneae). A catalogue of all currently known species from the Greek island of Crete (2013). Argiope trifasciata is absent from that. I found an email for the author, but he added no light. A distribution map on the Spiders of Europe website – see below – again suggests it is absent from Crete and the Greek mainland.

Distribution map for Argiope trifasciata, according to Spiders of Europe website, evidently slightly out of date.

The outcome is simply that finding Argiope trifasciata on Crete is consistent with its spread across parts of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. I entered the record onto iNaturalist (the website’s algorithms recognised the species, though humans have also agreed the record) and this gave me access to other records for Crete.

The Honeyguide group's banded argiope is the fourth for Crete on iNaturalist, with previous records from May 2024, September 2024 and October 2024. Two of these were from the far west and far east of Crete, the other more central.

Now for photos of other wasp spiders (Argiope genus), for reference.

My first UK wasp spider Argiope bruennichi, West Canvey marsh, Essex 11 October 2007.

The wasp spider, Argiope bruennichi, is found across much of Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia, and is spreading north rapidly. That spread is very evident in England, with a rapid colonisation of Norfolk in the last decade. Wasp spiders are plentiful in two Norwich parks with areas of long grass, Eaton Park and Catton Park. Honeyguiders on Norfolk days out have found it at Thompson Common, Hickling (both August 2023) and Buxton Heath (July 2025).

Large wasp spider Argiope lobata collage, Extremadura, Spain, October 2026.

Large wasp spider Argiope lobata is in southern Europe and much of Africa and Asia. It’s much less frequently found on Honeyguide holidays. My only photos are from Extremadura, 2 October 2016.

Chris Durdin, May 2026 

A host of warblers at NWT Thorpe Marshes

 A bonus of having NWT’s Thorpe Marshes nature reserve close by is not just the access to countryside and nature, but also the chance to learn about wildlife. I have been leading monthly guided walks at Thorpe Marshes for more than ten years and they are always popular.

You might be wondering what it’s like to be with a small group. Of course they vary through the year as nature changes. This article gives a flavour of the guided walk in mid-April.

April and May are the peak months for bird song, and we took time to listen to and name the many warbler species at Thorpe Marshes. We heard or saw seven species of warbler, plus a fleeting sound of an eighth.

The first of these was Cetti’s warbler, unusual in that it’s a resident species. It’s loud, shouty song comes from cover: like a wren, it’s a brown bird that advertises its presence by sound. A glimpse is all you’ll get, if you’re lucky.

The second was a willow warbler, with a flowing downward cadence of liquid notes from tall willows near the mooring basin. Willow warblers were absent last year and their geographical range is shifting northwards with climate change, so to have one here another year feels like a bonus.

Sedge warbler (Derek Longe).

The noisiest and most numerous warbler in spring is the sedge warbler. This is a species that does show itself, and out on the marsh we spent some time watching a singing male on a small willow bush. Everyone saw it well, with its orange gape – open mouth – clear with my telescope’s extra magnification. Every now and then this scratchy, energetic song was emphasised with a short song flight, up and down, then back to its perch.

We were close to the cattle corral when three of us heard the faint ‘reeling’ of a grasshopper warbler. As that wasn’t heard by most of the group, I’m not including it in the count of the day’s seven warbler species. Grasshopper warblers are best heard early morning or evening, though a couple of days later I heard one during the middle of the day from where I was standing on the railway bridge.

In the small woodland in the far corner of Thorpe Marshes we heard chiffchaff and blackcap – warblers four and five. Warbler number six was reed warbler, singing from reed on the edge of St Andrews Broad. The song is similar to sedge warbler, but slower and less animated.

Whitethroat (Nigel Harris).

The seventh and final warblers were whitethroats that like the mix of brambles and nettles near the river bank. It’s another scratchy song, like the sedge warbler often delivered from a perch and with short song flights.

Marsh marigold.

Of course there were other birds besides warblers: great crested grebe on St Andrews Broad, buzzard, sparrowhawk and kestrel flying past, and various other small birds. We found an alder fly and there were numerous black St Mark's flies in the air. One of the group found the egg of an orange tip butterfly on garlic mustard, and lady's smock and marsh marigold flowers were at their best.

Lady's smock.

There’s now a ninth warbler species at Thorpe Marshes, as a garden warbler arrived after the guided walk. It’s rich, warbling song, more sustained than a blackcap’s, which comes from tall scrub.

It’s best to mention that the guided walks, booked via the NWT's website, soon become fully booked, so looking ahead a few months may help anyone planning to join us.

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A splendid team of volunteers, led by Warden Matt Wickens, has been improving the path from Thorpe Marshes to Bungalow Lane. This used to get horribly muddy in winter, but now – as the picture shows – a stone path should allow year-round access to this area. 

New path from NWT Thorpe Marshes to Bungalow Lane.

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Chris Durdin lives in Thorpe St Andrew. He runs Honeyguide Wildlife Holidays www.honeyguide.co.uk and is the guide for the monthly guided walks at NWT Thorpe Marshes. This blog was first written as an article for Just Thorpe St Andrew.