The small cross spider is a little of East and South Asia; females are only about 1/3–1/2 in (8–12 mm) long. It decorates the center of its web with white zigzag bands arranged in an X. You won't find it in the US.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Females are 1/3–1/2 in (8–12 mm) long; males are tiny, about 1/6–1/5 in (4–5 mm). The female's abdomen has yellow and dark bands, with reddish tones mixed into the dark bands, and silvery-white hairs on the front. Males are mostly black.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Forests
- Thickets and hedges
- Around houses and shrines
- Range
- East and South Asia: India, Bangladesh, China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. In Japan it lives from lowlands to mountains and often turns up on house walls, hedges, and around shrines. You won't find it in the US.
Behavior
- Activity
- Spins a vertical orb web and adds an X-shaped white zigzag decoration at the center, sometimes only part of the X.
- Overwintering
- Spiderlings spend the winter inside the egg sac and come out in spring.
Life cycle
- Nest
- Lays eggs in 1–3 pale brown egg sacs hung in a loose tangle of silk away from the web.
- Clutch size
- 300–800 eggs per sac
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- Its scientific name minuta is Latin for "small," pointing to its size compared with other Argiope spiders.
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