The European garden spider (Araneus diadematus, cross spider) is a very common and well-known orb-weaver spider in Western Europe. Araneus diadematus also lives in parts of North America, in a range extending from New England and the Southeast to the Northwestern United States and adjacent parts of Canada.
Individual spiders' colouring can range from extremely light yellow to very dark gray, 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 that are filled with guanine, which is a byproduct of protein metabolism.
It is hard to provoke a garden spider to bite - if it does, the bite is slightly unpleasant, though utterly harmless to humans.
Canon 5D on tripod with Sigma 105/2.8 and extension tubes 12+25+36mm resulting in an magnification of 1.7:1
1/80s f/16 ISO 320 Ringflash and Reflector behind the spider
This spider was about 5mm in real size (legs included). She was just having a meal at this very moment!
View it large! Explored on July, 13th 2007
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