Araneus diadematus || The Holy Cross Spider

Setting up my sewing machine in the living room because the craft room is chock full of crafty goodness right now, I had a bit of a surprise when I bent down to plug in the machine!

She was so purty, and didn't seem to be too upset by my wrangling until I lifted the tablecloth and she ran!

Being the conscious caretaker of house spiders, I gently moved her into a jar ...

... and took her outside.

That 'lil beauty had me a tad concerned when I saw her in the sunshine. I've not seen that color of orange, so I looked her up. Turns out she is much happier outside anyway. These spiders don't tend to be indoor spiders as a general rule, and their bite is harmless, should you get a nudge from one of these beauties. They call them "Cross Spiders" because of their markings. It looks like a white cross on their back.

She is about 1.27cm or .5 inches (not including those long legs!). Not very big, but her legs made her seem larger! I know it was a female, because they're the ones that spin the glorious webs! The Nature Mapping Foundation said this:

Orb Spiders are said to eat their webs each night along with many of the small insects stuck to it. They have been observed eating the web within a couple of minutes. A new web is then spun in the morning.

As usual, all the images are mine, including this one of Smudge, who hid from the spider! ...not really, but it was too cute not to share, LOL!

Thanks so much for reading, learning and looking at the images!