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Description of Araneus diadematus (European garden spider)
Physical Characteristics
Female 10 to 22.5 mm.
Abdomen with angular shoulders. Colour variable; yellow-brown to orange-brown, but also dark brown with a distinctive white cross-shaped pattern on a, often slightly darker, leaf-shaped figure which is outlined by wavy white spots.
Carapace yellow-brown to dark brown.
Legs and palps light-dark annulated.
Male 4 to 11 mm.
Markings and colours almost identical to the female.
Habitat
Plants, shrubs and trees.
Distribution
Common in the whole of Europe.
Period
Summer and autumn.