Species: Garden Cross Spider (Araneus diadematus)
Family: Orb-web Spiders (ARANEIDAE)
Category: Arachnids
Location: Widespread
A. Arachnids
More extensive information on arachnids can be found in a separate blog post.
B. Orb-web Spiders (ARANEIDAE)
These are three-clawed builders of flat webs with sticky spiral capture silk. The building of a web is begun when the spider floats a line on the wind to another surface. The spider secures the line and then drops another line from the centre, making a "Y". The rest of the scaffolding follows with many radii of non-sticky silk being constructed before a final spiral of sticky capture silk.
C. Garden Cross Spider (Araneus diadematus)
This spider lives on flying insects caught in its web, and is mostly seen from June until October. They have a white cross-shaped mark on the abdomen, but are variable in colouration and pattern. The young spiderlings are bright yellow with a dark brown triangular patch on the abdomen.
Images
Garden Cross Spider
Close-up, the Garden Cross Spider's cruciform white markings are distinctive.
Garden Cross Spider
The young spiderlings of the Garden Cross Spider are bright yellow with a dark brown triangular patch on the abdomen.
Garden Cross Spider
The Garden Cross Spider lives on flying - or jumping - insects caught in its web (as seen here with this grasshopper), and is mostly seen from June until October.
Garden Cross Spider
Garden Cross Spiders have a white cross-shaped mark on the abdomen, but are variable in colouration and pattern.
Garden Cross Spider
Garden Cross Spiders have a white cross-shaped mark on the abdomen, but are variable in colouration and pattern.
Garden Cross Spider
Garden Cross Spiders have a white cross-shaped mark on the abdomen, but are variable in colouration and pattern.
