Today’s design inspiration….created by nature!
We discovered this spider near the house and were fascinated by the color and the legs! A little internet research revealed that it is a St. Andrew’s Cross Spider. It is named after the martyr who was killed on a cross shaped in the “X” formed by the legs. Yes, there are eight legs!
That little zig zag in the web is put there by the spider. Its exact purpose is unknown. It may act as a marker to keep large animals like birds out of the web. It may be for reinforcement or it may actually attract insects because it reflects UV. We watched this spider catch an insect and quickly run to get it, wrap it up and eat it!
I am grateful for the past week in Northeast Ohio – they have been perfect!
I Love this! What a gorgeous animal, and beautifully ‘captured’. 😉
Wow, your spider is a beauty! I’ve never seen one like that around here on the West Coast. I get big old black ones and red striped spiders on my patio and find them fascinating, too.
Hope your perfect weather is holding up. It’s muggy here today with steady rain– just lovely.
Stacy at golden bird knits.
Amazing… very nice capture and composition. Thanks for posting it. kareninkenai
oh wow what a wonderful photo…..
wow. i’ve never seen a spider like that before either.