St Andrew's Cross Spider by lil_sizzler

Photography • Insects • posted on Sep 19, 2008

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Description

The St Andrew's Cross Spider, sometimes called the Argiope, is a member of the orb weaver family. The female can be 1-1/8 inch long at full maturity. The male is about half the size of the female and often brighter in color. These spiders spin large orb webs in spiral patterns up to 2 feet wide! The vertical zigzag design at the center is thought to aid in web stabilization, capture of prey, or prevent birds from flying through it. If movement is detected on the web, the spider will often vibrate the web in order to entangle the prey that is then immediately wrapped in swaths of silk and bitten into submission. I spotted this one while taking a stroll through the gardens at work. After seeing how big her fangs were this was as close as I dared get.:) Thanks for stopping by! Make it a great day!

Comments (10)

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GBCalls

5:49PM | Fri, 19 September 2008

Excellent capture! Well done

MrsLubner

6:40PM | Fri, 19 September 2008

phenominal job! Such a clean and amazing capture.

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Seaview123

7:20PM | Fri, 19 September 2008

Very nice picture! Good work.

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MrsRatbag

8:18PM | Fri, 19 September 2008

I wouldn't have gotten even this close....great capture!

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Leeco

11:30PM | Fri, 19 September 2008

I am rather fond of this species. I have been fascinated by them since I was a kid and first noticed the web vibrating they do, lol. Some years I see a lot of them and other years very few. Great capture and thanks for sharing it. Lee

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