X Files Spider

[T_Dog]

Found this guy on the bedroom window this morning. Makes me wonder if "X" marks the spot, what is the spot? Hard to see, but he has a web all the way around the "X" that he also laid down.

[PoorSucker]

Wow, amazing

Asked my wife from Chiang mai.

She tell me that this spider always do X web.

The truth is out there.

[pumpuiman]

Interesting how he's folded his legs together to form an X as well......( their should be eight legs, right?)

Perhaps he's trying to appear larger to avoid predation?

Nice pics

[phaethon]

It's called a St Andrew's Cross spider Agriope sp. (female - male much smaller) - the name may represent the X on the web or the habit of holding its legs together in pairs or both. Not sure of the exact species - very yellow so possibly A. keyserlingii or aurantia?

The X is reinforced sections of web which, as they are generally woven vertically across open areas, is thought to serve to alert birds etc. to the web's presence. This reduces efficiency in catching insects but decreases risk of damage so it's a worthwhile evolutionary trade-off.

[T_Dog]

Thanks all for the comments. Yep, the truth is out there! I could have sworn he only had four legs until I saw him sprint to the other side when I got too close.

I sure hope the birds have read the outdoor aviation manual to know that the "X" designates closed airspace! This is on a window so that is probably why he made it especially wide and brilliant. He doesn't want anyone intruding on "his" runway! Will be interesting to see if the jinjoks in the house make a meal out of him. Something tells me he is not in their food group though.

[phaethon]

Thanks all for the comments. Yep, the truth is out there! I could have sworn he only had four legs until I saw him sprint to the other side when I got too close.

I sure hope the birds have read the outdoor aviation manual to know that the "X" designates closed airspace! This is on a window so that is probably why he made it especially wide and brilliant. He doesn't want anyone intruding on "his" runway! Will be interesting to see if the jinjoks in the house make a meal out of him. Something tells me he is not in their food group though.

she/her...

[sangfroid]

That's not a spider! THIS is a spider

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0...71-3102,00.html

[phaethon]

That's not a spider! THIS is a spider

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0...71-3102,00.html

Ich! I find spiders fascinating to study from a distance but they seriously creep me out. I couldn't live anywhere where dealing with spiders meant replacing the glass and paper handling method with a shotgun

[T_Dog]

The X Files Spider has a girl friend! I've been watching him get bigger over the past two weeks and observing how he changes the "X" web from day-to-day. Yesterday morning there is another spider on the opposite side of the window. (I think it is a she!) She is on the lower left hand corner of the photo, but diffused as the photo is taken through the glass. Above her, you can see the original tenant and his reflection. If they have a lot of babies, I just hope they spend their time on the outside of the house!