Two Garden Spiders defending their territory.
Two Garden Spiders defending their territory. The European garden spider, diadem spider, cross spider, or cross orbweaver (Araneus diadematus) is a common orb-weaver spider found in Europe and parts of North America, European garden spider (orb-weaver) varieties are very commonly found throughout Europe and North America. In America, their range extends from New England and the Southeast to California and the Northwestern United States. They can also be found in parts of southern Canada adjacent to the United States. Size and markings[edit] Individual spiders' colouring can range from extremely light yellow to very dark grey, but all European garden spiders have mottled markings across the back, with five or more large, white dots forming a cross. The white dots result from cells filled with guanine, which is a byproduct of protein metabolism. Adult females range in length from to 20 mm ( to in), while males range from to 13 mm ( to in). During mating, the much smaller male will approach the female cautiously. If not careful, he could end up being eaten by her. The third pair of legs of garden spiders are specialized for assisting in the spinning of orb webs. These spiders also use them to move around on their web without getting stuck. These legs are very useful only in the web; while on the ground, these legs are of little value.[citation needed] Since this tends to be a passive animal, it is difficult to provoke to bite—but if it does, the bite is just slightly unpleasant and completely harmless to humans.[3] The webs are built by the larger females who usually lie head down on the web, or in a nearby leaf (with a signal thread attached to a leg), waiting for prey to get entangled in the web. The prey is then quickly captured and wrapped in silk before being eaten. Like many other orb weavers, the spider will use its legs to violently oscillate its web if it feels threatened, in an attempt to ward off potential predators.
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Secret Garden at the Salutation, Sandwich, Kent.
Photo credit: © John Gaffen 2 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: araneus, bb, defending, diadematus, european, fighting, garden, kent, macro, salutation, sandwich, secret, spider, spiders, territory, wearaneus, webb
