Garden spiders are the most common orb web spider in the UK often found in gardens, giving them their name! They are greyish-brown with a white cross on their back and spin their famous spiral webs! They sit in the middle of the web waiting to feel the vibrations of a struggling insect in the sticky threads of its web. They then rush out and wrap their prey tightly in silk to stop them from moving – finishing the job with a venomous bite! This may sound scary – but they are completely harmless to humans!
How to identify
The Garden spider is one of the more easily recognised spiders. It is usually grey-brown or reddish-brown in colour, with a large white cross (made up of pale spots and streaks) on its abdomen. Females are twice the size of males.
Did you know?
Spider silk is amazingly lightweight: a strand of silk long enough to go all the way around the Earth would weigh less than 500 grams - that's the same as a bag of sugar! It's also as strong as Kevlar, the material used to make bulletproof vests.
