Life is short;
You must spin
A web of wonder
For the whole world to see
This guest was waiting for me when I arrived home the other day. It had made a web for itself near my washing line. Glad I didn’t walk into it.
It’s an Argiope keyserlingi, or a St Andrew’s Cross spider. They’re known for the distinctive decorations on their webs, usually a zig-zag pattern forming an X in the middle of the web.
The pattern, or stabilimentum, is thought to be a warning to birds and similar predators to stay away. It also attracts insects as it reflects ultra-violet light.
It’s one of the prettier spiders I’ve seen. And its bite is mostly harmless and non toxic to humans too which is good to know.
Photos and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2015
Glad to know it’s harmless, but it still looks nasty to me. But then, I am absolutely terrified of spiders. Your photograph is gorgeous, however.
Thanks! I’m happy with it too. The colours cane out really well.
I don’t like spiders much either… I freaked when I saw this one until I worked out what it was. Unless they want to turn me into a superhero I’m more than happy for spiders to leave me alone. 😉