Cross or garden spider, Araneus diadematus
Body size
Female to 18mm; male to 9mm.
Appearance
Female (photo) usually recognised by a cross of pale spots on the abdomen which varies in colour from beige to brown, brick-red and black. Carapace brown with a dark central band. The spiny legs are banded light and dark. The smaller male rarely bites.
Habitat, range and season
Woodland, scrub, and gardens of all kinds (often enters buildings in the autumn). Very common in the Northern Hemisphere: Europe and much of Asia to Japan; also parts of N America. Adults occur from June to November; the young emerge from the egg-sac in spring (they appear yellow, with a black pyramid mark).
Web
A vertical orb.
First recorded in the UK
1678.
