| Photo Information |
| Copyright: Claudia Matesiu (cmatesiu) (20) |
| Genre: Animals |
| Medium: Color |
| Date Taken: 2008-07-01 |
| Categories: Insects |
| Camera: Fuji Finepix S5200 |
| Exposure: f/3.5, 1/80 seconds |
| More Photo Info: [view] |
| Photo Version: Original Version |
| Date Submitted: 2008-07-21 12:37 |
| Viewed: 244 |
| Points: 0 |
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
The European garden spider (Araneus diadematus, cross spider), also called the Cross spider in Eastern Europe 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 grey, 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.
The third pair of legs of a garden spider has been modified by nature to help it spin webs in the form of orbs. The spider also uses them to move sidewards on a web in order to avoid sticking to it. During the attack and while moving on the ground, these legs don't serve a big role though.
Garden spiders have been known to stridulate (act of producing sound by rubbing together certain body parts) when threatened.
It is hard to provoke a garden spider to bite - if it does, the bite is slightly unpleasant, though utterly harmless to humans. |
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