We’ve talked about Araneus diadematus (European Garden Spider or Cross Orb-Weaver spider) before in Garden Orb Weaver Spider and One Plump Spider. Well it’s spring here in Seattle and it seems the little cluster balls of baby Cross Orb-Weavers are everywhere. I suspect these babies - recently hatched - come from an egg sac that was created in the autumn and has over-wintered for several months. Mom is long gone, and so is dad, possibly eaten by mom. However, these kids have no time for counseling to get over a traumatic family situation because they probably have less than a year to survive and need to hop to it. And indeed, a day after the spider ball picture here broke up, the little baby spiders set up shop (aka webs) nearby.
October 2013: A male Araneus diadematus does the mating dance with a female.
May 2014: What comes after the mating dance: a ball of spiderlings. These spiderlings were found nearby to where the dance took place.
This is such a great article - thanks for writing this and taking these amazing pictures.
ReplyDelete