The Living Forest (169) : Cross Spider

The Living Forest (169) : Cross Spider

The cross spider (also known as European garden spider) is very common in forests, heathlands, hedgerows and gardens.
It can easily be identified by the distinctive cross on the abdomen.

This spider builds circular orb webs and can usually be found sitting at the center of the web, head down, waiting for a prey to get entangled in the web.
The victim is then quickly captured and always wrapped in silk before being eaten.
The specimen in the picture was very busy having dinner with a hoverfly as main course.

The female of this species is much larger than a male and thus, the much smaller male must approach a female very cautiously if he wants to mate.
Did you know that if he's not careful, he can end up being eaten by her !
Speaking of girl power…….

Dutch name : Kruisspin
German name : Gartenkreuzspinne
Latin name : Araneus diadematus