Baby sets out on her own

[urbpan]

This orb-weaving spider is about 2mm across. I noticed the tiny web catching the sun as I talked to a coworker. I set the camera for manual focus and took the shot. I zoomed in to look closer and saw the details visible here in this cropped version. It was only then that I began to suspect that this is a cross orbweaver.

A couple weeks ago I took photos of a recent hatching of hundreds of cross orbweaver babies, so I know they are out and about. I will continue to take photos of spiders as the year progresses, so we should get an idea of how fast cross orbweavers grow, or perhaps whether or not I am totally wrong with my identification.