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St Andrews Cross Web

Orb-weaving spiders have puzzled, charmed and inspired people over the centuries. If you observe closely, you’ll notice that the web of each species is unique in its pattern. The St Andrews Cross spider usually spins one that is a complete and vertical orb, but this springtime juvenile only spun the bottom two thirds of his web. It’s fascinating to watch the spider build as it walks around each circle, using a leg to measure off the exact distance to lay down the next thread.

I photographed this particular individual on an early September morning in a field near my house which was covered in hundreds of webs. They would have been invisible during the daytime but the heavy dew that drenched them made them stand out like beacons, especially when backlit by the low angle of the sun. I selected one that made a pretty pattern and used a bright silver reflector to throw light back onto the little spider.