Andrew

Having trouble keeping a posting routine. Pondering that on the veranda over a cup of tea I spotted this creature up under the plastic roof. I suppose it could be demonstrating some kind of autism, but one presumes that this is a discrete species of spider evolved by natural selection. There must be some advantage it has gained through this web and posture behavior. Exactly what that advantage is I am not sure, perhaps a smug psychological stability in times of famine that allows it to survive while all others fade away in their lack of faith in the arrival of the next meal. Then again, there may be something in this cross symbol that holds some fatal attraction for particular insects. It is so easy to read a lot of twaddle into what we observe in the natural world, thank goodness for the discovery of tools like scientific method that help us avoid jumping in feet first.
I looked this one up after and found that it is a St Andrew's Cross spider. The role of the web is indeed still a mystery, but perhaps the reflection of ultraviolet light may actually be a beacon to the insect world. I suppose the name was shorter before we developed the nasty habit of showing reverence for people after first killing them.