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Introduction:
The St Andrew's Cross
Spider's Latin name is Argiope kiyserlingi. The female's size is
about 20mm long and its cephalothorax is flattened and covered in white
or silver hairs. It also has a banded and spotted abdomen in a white,
yellow, red and black pattern The male is about 4 mm long and has
a brown body (pic below).
Habitat:
In Australia,
the St Andrew's Cross Spider lives in the eastern part and New Guinea;
and is also found in other countries. The adult female makes an orb web
with an X shape (St Andrew's Cross) in the middle.
She then hangs her head down with her
legs together in pairs over the cross. These spiders are active both day
and night and build their webs in and near small shrubs and against
walls.
 Prey:
The St Andrew's Cross spiders feed on
flying insects that get caught in their X shaped web.
Breeding: The female
spider's eggs are laid in a silk sac usually hung among leaves near to
the web. The young spiders are light brown and at first they make webs
with a lacy disc in the middle. As they get older, they add a
cross to the disc and when they are adults, they only make the cross.
Venom:
The St Andrew's Cross Spider doesn't have
dangerous venom. Its bite causes a mild local pain. If disturbed, the St
Andrew's Cross Spider shakes her web vigorously or may drop to the
ground. See our
Argiope Photo
page for more photos of these spiders.
Information
and pictures were taken from children's projects and where credited to that
child does not claim to be original information. Where possible, permission
to reproduce has been sought. Any infringement of copyright is purely
unintentional.
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