


Eriophora transmarina aka Common Garden Orb Weaver Spider, Australian Garden Orb Weaver Spider (?)
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Suborder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
My Garden, Adelaide, South Australia –
Photos & Text: Michal Dutkiewicz
I found this spider in a Cullen australasicum, a native pea bush on the side of the road between the towns of Keyneton and Sedan in the Murraylands. I am not absolutely certain if this is another version of this species – There are so many! Each of us have many Australian Orb Weavers in our gardens – They are abundant! They have many different patterns and colours – As far as I know, these are not separate subspecies, but adaptations individuals make to camouflage themselves – I don’t know the mechanism by which this is achieved, but with each new moult, they can change their colour and pattern to blend in with their surroundings of the site they rest on during the day. Like other orb weavers, they industriously spin their new web every night and take up a position in its centre – They are not considered harmful to humans, but we all know the feeling of walking into one of these webs!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_garden_orb_weaver_spider