Common cross spider (Araneus diadematus) lives in a variety of habitats. We find it in a meadow, at the edge of a forest or in it, and it sometimes weaves its wheel-shaped web in the garden as well.
It hunts using a trap: a web that it spans between two shrubs, across a forest path or between taller meadow herbs. Adult female weaves a wheel-shaped web about 3 dm wide, containing around 40 capture threads. In the center of the web the female sits head-down, and in the scorching sun she likes to retreat to a shelter at the edge of the web and monitor what happens in her trap via a signaling thread that she holds with her front leg. Smaller prey are bitten and envenomed immediately; with larger catches she is more cautious, the captured insect is first wrapped in silk and only then venomized.
Sexual maturity occurs in warm summer or autumn days. At that time the male stops weaving webs and begins to look for a suitable female. When he finds her, he attaches a 'courtship thread' to her web, which he then pulls and shakes, thereby luring the female to him. He then waits for a suitable moment and attempts to fertilize the mate. In doing so he is very cautious, as this is a dangerous act that can cost him his life. The female is ready to mate only a few days after becoming sexually mature; later she treats the male as a nourishing meal.
This species got its name from the characteristic marking of a white cross on the back of the abdomen. The body color of the common cross spider is very diverse; we can encounter pale yellow, bright orange, as well as inconspicuous brown or almost black individuals. An adult common cross spider is a large spider. The female's body is 10 to 18 mm long and, when full of mature eggs, almost spherical. The male is considerably smaller, its body is 4 to 8 mm long, and it never gets that big.
