800 little babies!

There is gonna be a lot of little spiders in this post. So if you have something against them - you have been warned :)

But... just have a look how adorable they are!!

Araneus diadematus

Also called a European garden spider and can is quite common in Europe and North America. I don't have any photograph pf a grown up one, so lets enjoy the hundreds of little yellow babies.

The mom spider will lay eggs in the late summer and will cover them with a thick, silky spiderweb layer. She will die soon after leaving the cocoon to do the rest.
The eggs will stay in a cocoon like that until the next year and in spring they will finally emerge. There can be from 300 to 800 eggs in one cocoon.
The babies will stay all together for a while and this is what you see on the photos. When they grow up a bit they will all go their own way.

After about 2 years they are ready to repeat the cycle. I have seen the mature spiders around. They create large, typical, spiderwebs between branches and sticks. We have many boxwoods round the house and they seem to love it there. Thick bush give them enough protection I guess, but also enough little sticks to attach the web to. Obviously they will feed on any insect they can catch.

I found this bunch on a pot plant. I noticed them only because I accidently moved it and they dispersed like crazy in all directions. Few days later they were all gone. I could only spot single babies on all the plants around.

No, I did not spray them with water. It was raining earlier that day ;)

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Spider song as a bonus today:
The Cure - Lullaby
year 1989

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_{Shot with Nikon D5500 + Sigma 105mm lens
All photos and text are my own.}