Day 336: Araneus diadematus, the Cross Orb Weaver or Cross Spider was introduced from Europe and is now perhaps one of the most common spiders seen in the Pacific Northwest. I call them "big traingular garden spiders," or more precisely, "Oh, shit! It's on me! I ran full-face into it! Where is it? Get it off me!" The male (shown here) is substantially smaller than the female, but often builds his web adjacent to hers, there to hang facing downward as he awaits a disturbance in his net. I doubt he's expecting anything as large as me, and it was only by Mother Nature's good grace that I didn't set off his monitoring system as I bent over to examine something else in my garden. It generally takes a couple of mishaps each fall before I start paying better attention to where I'm going. Spiderwebs are a hazard every mushroomer knows, and while I'd prefer not to emerge from the woods covered in gossamer, the thought of having a cross-as-in-cranky Cross Orb Weaver somewhere on my person is even less appealing. What is it about spiders which raises the neck-hairs on most of us, even those who love caterpillars and other crawly things? I'll admit it freely: I'm an arachnophobe, if not to the point of panic, certainly to the outer fringe of "freaked." But a single big triangular garden-variety Orb Weaver is better than a nest of little gold baby spiderlings slung right where I'll hit them as I exit through my front door.
