SPIDER 2, STINK BUGS 0

A banded Argiope spider quickly wraps up a western conifer seed bug – also known as a "stink bug" – in a large web in a juniper shrub. The spider captures its prey for food. "They often wrap their prey first, depending on how quickly they move, and then they will inject venom to immobilize the prey. After that, they release a digestive enzyme onto the prey, which dissolves the prey into a liquid," said Lauren Kerzicnik, an extension specialist of urban entomology at Montana State University in Bozeman. Kerzicnik said that the spider will then suck up the digested liguids with her sucking stomach, adding that spiders can't digest solid food. She said the banded Argiope spider typically has a one-year cycle in Montana, laying eggs in late summer or early fall before dying. The eggs will hatch in the spring.