Argiope keyserlingi

The spider was named by Fredrich Karsch in 1878 after the mythological Greek character of Argiope, a nymph from the town Eleusis in Southern Greece.[5] The specific name keyserlingi was chosen to honor arachnologist Eugen von Keyserling.[6]

Females of the species vary from 10 mm to 16 mm in size. They possess a glossy carapace consisting of silver, yellow, red and black bands on their upper segment with two horizontal yellow belts beneath. Males of the species generally vary from 3 mm to 4 mm in size. They are brown and pearly colored. St. Andrew's cross spiders rest with their legs oriented in pairs.[7]

A photograph of the bottom of a female St Andrew's cross spider.

The St Andrew's cross spider can be found mostly in rainforest margins, open forests and heathlands of eastern Australia. They can also be found in the upper segment of the Northern Territory, in the upper segment of Tasmania, in the left segment of Western Australia, near Tedi River of Papua New Guinea, in the Malakula island of Vanuatu, in all areas of Lord Howe Island and even near the Shihe-Shiguan River in China. St Andrew's cross spiders construct medium-sized webs on low-shrubby vegetation.[7]

Its web possesses meandering, bluish-white ribbons consisting of silk that can form either a full or partial cross through the center of the web. The purpose of the crucifix-like stabilimentum has long perplexed biologists. Biologists first thought that the stabilimentum's purpose is to strengthen the web. Other ideas associate it with capturing prey or evading it's predators, though the purpose of its stabilimentum remains a mystery. One feature of the stabilimentum is that it effectively reflects ultraviolet light, making it attractive to flying insects. Biologists think this may be to increase the chance of catching its prey. The design of the stabilimentum makes the web and the spider obvious to diurnal predators, especially birds and wasps. However, the shape of the crucifix-like decoration can vary from 3 shapes, a complete cross, a partial cross possessing 1-3 arms, or occasionally an absence of a crucifix-like decoration. This variability can induce web-recognition problems for predators. Biologists also found a possibility that the stabilimentum may be a warning to predators to stay away.[7]

Prey of the St Andrew's cross spider are:

• flies
• moths
• butterflies
• bugs
• bees

The orb-weaver then wraps its prey immaculately with silk before digesting, though smaller prey may be prioritized.[7]

When the orb weaver is threatened, it responds in one of two ways. It either ejects from its web or begins vibrating the web strenuously so everything becomes a blur, confusing its predator. However, these two methods may not always succeed, as sometimes their corpses can be found in mud cells of wasps and their webs can be left empty and damaged.[7]

Mating takes place from summer to autumn and is a perilous occasion for miniature male St Andrew's cross spiders. One or more males settles on the upper segment of the web, some of them may even be missing legs; caused by encountering inhospitable females. The male then materializes a mating thread within the web, which it attracts the hospitable female by oscillating the thread. The female then hangs its pear-shaped sac in a mesh of threads, frequently surrounded by leaves to camouflage the sac's greenish silk. However, the egg sacs are the target of wasps and flies.[7]

• Blamires, Sean J.; Hochuli, Dieter F. & Thompson, Michael B. (2007): Does decoration building influence antipredator responses in an orb-web spider (Argiope keyserlingi) in its natural habitat? Australian Journal of Zoology 55: 1–7. doi:10.1071/ZO06098 — PDF
• Platnick, Norman I. (2008): The world spider catalog, version 8.5. American Museum of Natural History.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Argiope keyserlingi.

Wikispecies has information related to Argiope keyserlingi.

• Description, distribution of A. keyserlingi
• St Andrews Cross Spider - Youtube