White spots on its abdomen form a cross, giving it its epithet meaning 'crowned' or 'wearing a diadem'
Garden spider — Araneus diadematus, also the cross spider or cross orbweaver.
Nature · Insects & other invertebrates
Garden spider
Adults most conspicuous August–October · female 10–18 mm, male 4–8 mm
Araneus diadematus — Araneidae (orb-weavers); an arachnid, not an insect
The spider that builds the classic wheel-shaped web across a garden path in September. It is fawn to reddish-brown, with a pattern of white spots on the abdomen arranged as a cross, which gives it its other names of cross spider and cross orbweaver and its epithet diadematus, "crowned". The much larger female hangs head-down at the hub or waits in a retreat at the end of a signal thread; she lays a single yellow egg sac in autumn, dies before winter, and the spiderlings emerge in spring as a golden ball that bursts apart when touched.
How to spot them
- ▸A cross of white spots on a fawn or reddish-brown abdomen
- ▸A large vertical orb web with a spiral of sticky silk on radiating spokes, rebuilt frequently
- ▸Female far larger than the male and most obvious in late summer and autumn
- ▸Hangs head-downwards at the hub, or waits off-web holding a taut signal thread
- ▸Eight legs, two body sections and no antennae or wings — an arachnid, not an insect
How to know it
Builds a vertical wheel web with a sticky spiral on dry radiating spokes, and often eats the old silk when rebuilding
Garden spider — the spokes are not sticky, which is how the spider crosses its own web.
Sits off the web holding a taut signal thread to the hub, so it feels a struggling insect without being exposed
Garden spider — the signal or trap line.
The female wraps a single yellow egg sac in autumn and dies before the winter
Garden spider — the spiderlings overwinter in the sac.
Its young emerge in spring as a tight golden ball of tiny spiderlings that explodes outwards at a touch
Garden spider — the dispersing cluster is a familiar spring sight on fences.
Eight legs, two body sections, eight eyes and no antennae — so it belongs to a different class from the insects entirely
Garden spider: an arachnid (Arachnida), order Araneae, not an insect.
Quick-fire facts
- •Araneus diadematus: diadematus means 'crowned' or 'diademed', for the cross of white spots
- •It is an arachnid, not an insect: eight legs, two body sections (prosoma and opisthosoma), no antennae and no wings
- •The web is an orb: non-sticky radial spokes carry a sticky capture spiral, and the spider often consumes the old silk when rebuilding
- •Females are much larger than males; males approach with great caution and may be eaten
- •One yellowish egg sac of several hundred eggs is spun in autumn, hidden in vegetation or a crevice; the female dies before winter
- •Spiderlings hatch and stay clustered in a golden ball before dispersing, often by ballooning on a silk thread
- •It is one of Britain's commonest and most widespread spiders, in gardens, hedgerows, heath and woodland
- •Recording in Britain is coordinated by the British Arachnological Society's Spider Recording Scheme
- •Its venom is harmless to humans; British spiders that can give a noticeable bite are very few
Drill it — 7 cards
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Sources
- British Arachnological Society — British Arachnological Society
- Michael Chinery — Collins Complete Guide to British Insects