Garden spider (Araneus diadematus)

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The garden spider is a very common, large orb-web spider (1). The colour is variable, ranging from pale yellow to blackish-brown (2), with pale markings on the abdomen which often take the form of a cross (1). Females are larger than males (2). Newly hatched spiderlings have yellow abdomens with a dark patch (1). As with all spiders, there are four pairs of legs (3); the first pair are long and are used to sense vibrations on the web (4). In front of the walking legs there is also a pair of leg-like 'palps', which are used for sperm-storage in males and are inserted into the female's body to transfer sperm (5). At the tip of the abdomen there are three pairs of spinnerets, which secrete silk (4).

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