Oval Saint Andrew's Cross Spider

Description:

adult female - it is conspicuous because of its large size (female svl 25mm... male about a third of female) and its tendency to construct its web in open sunny areas among flowers, shrubs, and tall grasses.! the web of this species is usually suspended vertically about a metre from the ground... and the female sits head down in the centre of the web... holds its legs in pairs to appear to be aligned to the four arms of the letter 'X'.! when disturbed... the female will flip to the other side of the web in a blink of an eye through a gap in the web (which was what i witnessed)... another response is to vibrate the web so its outline becomes blurred... while yet another response is to simply drop off the web.! the female creates the X-shaped zigzag bands of white silk in the centre of the web - the "stabilimentum" (plural: stabilimenta) - that is believed to serve a camouflage function... but its actual function is a subject of debate.!

Habitat:

found in an open grassy plain

Notes:

Araneae; Araneidae; Argiopinae