Orb Weavers
Latin name: Araneus diadematus
German name: Gartenkreuzspinne
Web: Large orb web
Habitat: Web is constructed in shrubs, tall grasses, lower part of trees. Often found in the garden and sometimes on windows, fences, etc.
How to recognize:
- typical light cross figure on the (often disappears towards the end of life)
- different colors: from light brown / yellowish to dark (red) brown
- large spider that can often be found in the middle of the web during the day, however, some spiders seem to prefer night time to be in the web.
Looks similar to:
- The cross on the abdomen is a very accurate and typical feature.
Size:
♀: 10-18mm
♂: 4-8mm
When?
♀: June till October
♂: June till September
Know more?
One of our most successful spiders because it can live in variety of habitats and catches prey in a particularly efficient way (can easily overpower wasps).
After hatching, young spiders stay together for a while. This is the time when you can spot the typical ball of spiders. When disturbed, the sphere seems to explode and the young spiders flee in all directions.
Latin name: Araneus quadratus
German name: Vierfleckkreuzspinne
Web: Large orb web
Habitat: Makes a web quite low to the ground (under 50 cm) between grasses and herbs, often in more humid places.
How to recognize:
- typical drawing with four white spots on the back of the abdomen
- different colours: ranging from light yellow - green - orange - red-brown
- large spider, sometimes during the day in web, but usually in retreat on the edge of the web
Looks similar to:
- Can be confused with the Marbled Orbweaver, but the two front light spots of that species are usually larger than the back two. With the Four-spot orbweaver, it is the other way around, with the two fronts spots being almost always larger.
Size:
♀: 9-20 mm
♂: 6-8 mm
When?
♀: July till October
♂: June till September
Latin name: Zygiella x-notata
German name: Sektorspinne
Web: small to medium orb web with catching threads missing in one or two sectors (looks open). A signal thread runs from the centre through this sector to signal the spider when prey is stuck. If you follow this, you will find the spider!
Habitat: almost always associated with buildings: in the corner of window frames, balconies, gates, fences, under the gutter, ... Can occur in high numbers.
How to recognize:
- abdomen with silver-colored leaf figure
- head with rather triangular, dark figure
- darkly annulated legs
Looks similar to:
- Zygiella atrica: this species is usually more orange, but females can only be identified with certainty using a stereo microscope. Males from Zygiella atrica have noticeably longer palps.
- Zygiella montana: this species only occurs in the higher parts of Belgium.
Body size
♀: 7-11 mm
♂: 4-7 mm
When?
♀: throughout the year
♂: throughout the year
Latin name: Nuctenea umbratica
German name: Spaltenkreuzspinne
Web: large orb web (up to 70 cm) with a large mesh size and not finely finished.
Habitat: hidden during the day under the bark of trees, between cracks and crevices in walls, fences, ... At night, you can find the spider in the middle of the web.
How to recognize:
- highly flattened shape
- dark brown to black colour, female with very striking light spots on the underside of the abdomen.
- clear "pits" on the back of the abdomen (muscle attachment points)
Looks similar to:
- a dark Grey Cross spider, but this species usually has a clear light mark on the back of the abdomen. The Grey Cross spider almost always lives in the immediate vicinity of water.
Body size:
♀: 11-15 mm
♂: 8-9 mm
When?
♀: throughout the year
♂: May to September
Latin name: Argiope bruennichi
German name: Wespenspinne
Web: Large orb web, often with threads in zigzag pattern (stabilimentum) originating from the centre going up and down.
Habitat: Often in grassland, with the web constructed low. Main diet are grasshoppers!
How to recognize:
- white-yellow-black bands on the abdomen (hence the name), males have a more brown colour and are much smaller.
- big spider, often in the web during the day
- threads in zigzag pattern (stabilimentum) in web
- typical lightbrown to brown egg sac, with vertical black stripes.
Looks similar to:
- because of the unique colouration, this species is hard to confuse with other spiders.
Size:
♀: 11-20 mm
♂: 4-4,5 mm
When?
♀: July till September/October
♂: June till August
