The spider species Araneus diadematus is commonly called the European garden spider, diadem spider, orangie, cross spider and crowned orb weaver.
Individual spiders’ colourings can range from extremely light yellow to very dark grey, but all A. diadematus have mottled white markings across the dorsal abdomen, with four or more segments forming a cross.
Alongside the use of the web to capture other prey, the spiders are also cannibals and prey on each other. However, this only happens before or after sexual activity. They attack based on their size, sexual experience and hunger levels.
Adult females range in length from 6.5 to 20 mm, while males range from 5.5 to 13 mm. Occasionally, the female will eat the male directly after mating.
This spider is not protected in our country, but we would like to show freshly hatched spiders in our video:
Video by Judit Hartdégen and Arnold Erdélyi, 2019, summer