It's that time again. Carrying a stick or a broom as one moves through the garden in early morning is recommended, at least if one wants to avoid getting one's face wrapped up in the silky strands of a spider's web. The Cross Orbweavers (
Araneus diadematus) are out in force. As spiders go, they're very attractive creatures and an appropriate subject for a Wednesday Vignette, the meme hosted by Anna of
Flutter & Hum to share interesting images.
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| The spider's common name derives from the white spots that form a cross on the creature's abdomen. The spider is native to Europe but immigrated to North America like so many of our American ancestors. It weaves an orb-shaped web and is generally found at its center with its head faced downward. |
This female spider initially constructed her bed, considerately I thought, just outside the flow of traffic above a grouping of
Stipa tenuissima (Mexican feather grass) adjacent to the outdoor porch we created for our cats, occupied now by just one cat, Pipig. (To be truthful, our house is Pipig's domain but she does hang out on the porch off and on.)
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| If you look closely, you can see the delicate spider web with the female spider at the center |
She wasn't alone in the area. Spider webs are everywhere.
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| This web, still covered in morning dew, was easier to see but I couldn't bring myself to look at it closely to determine if what was caught in it was debris or something else |
However, yesterday morning, after finding that the neighborhood raccoons had left their calling card at the fountain, I was stalking through the garden in a mission to determine what damage they had wrought and I found that my considerate spider had moved, weaving a new web across one of our main paths, which I came within inches of walking into.
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| The web between the pillar and the frame of the cat's porch was nearly invisible |
I stopped just in time as I saw her, seemingly hanging in open air in the middle of the path as it transitions from the side porch to the flagstone pathway leading through the arbor to the front yard.
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| Neither she nor I would have been happy if I'd charged through the space |
As gently as I could, I broke the web, allowing the spider to move safely to a nearby potted Copper Spoons plant (
Kalanchoe orgyalis), where she rested for a time.
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| In this position, the cross on her abdomen is less apparent but this is the same spider as in the preceding photo. She looks rather pretty against the felt-like brown foliage of the Kalanchoe. |
She was gone just a little later when I checked on her but I suspect I'll see her again. Hopefully, I'll be prepared for our next encounter.
Visit Anna at Flutter & Hum to see what images captured her attention and that of other participants this week.
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© 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
