Araneus diadematus
(Cross Orb-weaver)

Picture ID 43938

Submitted by:
deeproots
Submitted: Oct 10, 2018
Photographed: Oct 10, 2018
Spider: Araneus diadematus (Cross Orb-weaver)
Location: Brunswick , Maine, United States
Spotted Outdoors: High foliage (includes trees and tree trunks),Ground layer (leaf litter, dirt, grass, etc)
Found in web?: No
Attributes: Dorsal

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TangledWeb

Moderator

December 28, 2018 12:58 am

Hi, this might be a shamrock orbweaver, Araneus trifolium. They aren’t usually red, but red ones do occur. (Thank you Rick West for the photos)They consistently have black and white banded legs. This is an interesting photo, thank you for sharing your pics with us!

ItsyBitsy

Moderator

December 28, 2018 1:08 pm

Going with Cross Orb-weaver (Araneus diadematus) for this one. Here’s a similarly shriviled Shamrock for comparison of variation on the abdominal pattern.
https://bugguide.net/node/view/1598207/bgimage

TangledWeb

Moderator

Reply to ItsyBitsy

December 28, 2018 7:19 pm

Thanks! Dr. Ewing said basically, the cross marking is the most important clue to identifying Araneus diadematus over other markings and colors. I’m guessing that you go by that too. This spider appears to show that the marking is pretty deep into the abdomenal exoskeleton, like a tattoo is to skin— thus a basic developmental feature like the wavy lines on Araneus marmorous.