6 Curious Facts About Garden Spiders

Garden orb weaver spider, as its name suggests, lives in gardens and other places outdoors. This is one of the most widespread species, but if you don’t know anything about it, here are 6 garden spider facts that you may find interesting and useful.

There Are Different Kinds of Garden Spiders

Judging by color and markings, there are three main types of insect.

Yellow and Black Garden Spider

This bug has colorful body covered in black and yellow markings.

This bug has colorful body covered in black and yellow markings. Silver hairs grown on the smaller, front section of their bodies. This species has four pairs of eyes placed in trapeziod. Females are bigger, being up to 4 cm long. Males have brown bodies that may be adorned by black stripes.

Silver Garden Spider

This bug’s body is colored in silver or grey.

This spider is especially fond of spinning zigzag pattern webs.

Arachnologists explain that in two ways:

1. Spiders’ web reflects light, and flying bugs think that this is a gap among thick plants, which attracts them.
2. Such web serves to alert birds and other predators, so that they did not damage it.

Banded Garden Spider

This is the most widespread insect of its kind in warm states of the USA. As you could also guess by its name, it has banded body:

It has banded body.

Scientists have identified that in all cases this bug places its web at east-to-west parallel, and sits with its abdomen to south to get as much warm from the sun as possible. This is very important for them to have energy in the end of year.

Where Do They Live?

Garden spider is a cosmopolitan insect. It is spread globally, and can be found mostly in warm states and countries. This insect prefers living in meadows, clearings and gardens. It often arranges dwelling near adjacent sunny fields to get protection from wind. It can also be found in tall vegetation near buildings. Why so? The bug needs branches, twitches and similar things to spins its beautiful and large web that serves both home and a trap for preys.

Female garden spider usually stays on its web: “food” comes itself, there are eggs and spiderlings to care about. Males also come themselves.

Garden spider is a cosmopolitan insect.

Are Garden Spiders Poisonous?

Generally, this insect does not bite humans, it is not aggressive. But it may attack if being threatened or disturbed (squeezed, touched, etc.). Garden spider bites remind of bee or wasp stings. In worst cases, they hurt, and skin slightly swells. Usually, such occasions do not require medical assistance. If you have been bitten, do the following to render first aid:

1. Cleanse the affected area with slightly cold tap water and soap.
2. Apply antithistamine balm.
3. Take a tablet of aspirin to relieve possible symptoms.

They Make Splendid Webs

The diameter of webs may reach up to 60 cm. That is done to catch prey and show predators the territory where an insect lives. What do garden spiders eat? Usually they catch grasshoppers, flies, bees and other insects. Sometimes even small vertebrates are caught (for instance, a gecko).

These perfectly round and intricate webs.

Male Dies After Mating

No, female doesn’t eat male garden spider after mating (although that happens if a creature is already dead). Spiders just spend a lot of time in search of a female to fertilize (which is why they have no time to eat), and die because of malnutrition and dehydration after the completion of their mission.

The spider spins a cocoon production.

It Makes Cocoon of Its Prey

When someone gets caught in web, spider kills it with venom, and after 1-4 hours wraps in web cocoon. It injects digestive juices into a dead prey, and, as many other spiders do, sucks the resulting fluid.

Garden spider is another wonderful insect that astonished by both appearance and web it creates. Do not be afraid, if you meet such a guy outside: it is not fatally dangerous. You may easily live side-by-side, or just make the insects go away with the help of numerous insecticides.