ST. ANDREW’S CROSS SPIDERS

family Araneidae.
The St. Andrew’s cross is a garden spider that is
usually seen in a circular web with a cross pattern in
the centre. The female spider is about 15 mm in
body length. The carapace is silver grey and the
abdomen has bands of yellow, red, white and black.
The male is much smaller (about 5 mm) and is black
and greyish. When the female spider is at rest in the
middle of the cross in the web, it has its legs paired
so that each pair rests on a strand of the cross.
Flying insects such as flies, butterflies, damselfies,
bees, and moths are trapped by the web. The spider
rarely bites