These Cross Orbweavers, Araneus diadematus, were mating in our front yard. We saw the female in her web—photos 1 and 2—first, then the male—photos 3 and 4—approached on a single strand of silk, twitching the strand as he cautiously advanced. A final dash, and he grabbed the female and apparently mated.
Photo 5 is first in a series of shots of the final dash. Note the male is tapping with his front legs.
Number 6 is a video of the mating sequence. Once the movie loads, you can step through it frame by frame using arrow keys on your keyboard.
Read more on spider mating at
The Animal Communication Project.
In the Tintin Series, Tintin looks through a telescope early in The Shooting Star (1942) and sees what he thinks is a giant space spider. Turns out the spider is on the telescope lens. Professor Phostle identifies it as Araneus diadematus, the common garden spider. Two Araneus diadematus—named Arabella and Anita—flew on the Space Shuttle (1973).