My love of insects on this blog continues. But we’re going to take a break from moths today.
One of my friends needed some help moving a refrigerator and while doing so we found this Cross Orbweaver spider (Araneus diadematus) hanging in a web off the front of a house.  The photos included in this post don’t really do this spider’s size too much justice, but for Pennsylvania this is a fairly big spider.
This Cross Orbweaver spider was energetic, so getting a really good shot of it proved to be a pretty big challenge. Â With the help of two friends; one manning a stick to move the spider around, while the other handed me lenses on-demand, I was able to get about 6 quality shots of this spider. I’ve included two of them here.
This appears to be a female Cross Orbweaver spider. Â They range from 6 to 15mm in length, and live in many areas of the United States and Canada. Â From what I’ve researched they enjoy creating their webs on structures like homes and really like to be under unnatural lighting to catch their prey. Â This one proved that theory by being attached to the front of a house near a porch light.
The silk that this spider weaves is unique. It is extremely sticky when touched, almost like hot taffy, and is very strong and light. Â When we were moving the spider from the ground to the fence, or just suspending him in the air, he’d shoot out his silk in such a way that many different strands would float into the air and he was able to keep himself afloat this way. Â It was amazing.
The web that they weave, which you can read about and see on this site, is very sporadic and random in its design. Â I’m looking forward to doing some research on how and why they spin these types of webs when I get a few minutes to do so.
Insects!
Great job capturing the photos. Done so well it doesn’t creep me out that it’s a spider
We have an abundance of those fabulous spiders at our place. So much so I traveled with one to my inlaws and it was crawling up my shirt yesterday. I’d like to say I stay calm and composed but I didn’t haha.
Great pics.
I found a similar lady in a garden in UK.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/barrybloke/2862268991/
i have a question on this spider. there was a huge one spinning a web on my porch last night and from what i looked up it seemed to be this cross orb weaver spider. i went out today and it’s body had completely shrunk and i can’t find any information on that.. do you have any idea?
Rachael: My guess would be that it had laid its eggs/young. So that is why it lost its bulk in such a short period of time.
I have a beautiful one of these spiders living on my front porch. I have shown it off to everyone that I can get to look at it. My Granddaughter looked it up for me to see what kind of spider it was. I don’t normally like bugs, but this one is so unique that I am enjoying watching it.