Details
Araneus diadematus
The European garden spider is an orb-weaver with a pale cross on the abdomen. It spins webs in gardens and woodland edges to catch flying insects.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It inhabits forests, grassland, and urban greenspace in the Palearctic, the Nearctic. Shrubs, tall herbs, fences, and buildings provide web sites.
Length 0.6-2 cm; weight 0.05 g-1.2 g. White spots form a cross on the rounded abdomen, and body color varies from brown to orange. Females are larger than males.
Diurnal and solitary, it waits in or near the center of an orb web. Damaged webs are rebuilt, and prey is detected by vibration.
A carnivore, it eats flies, moths, wasps, and other insects caught in the web. Prey is wrapped in silk and subdued with venom.
Females make egg sacs in autumn and protect the eggs. Spiderlings disperse the following season and grow on small webs.
It is listed as Least Concern, though local populations can still be affected by habitat change, collection, or pollution.
