Garden orb-weavers would be easy prey for hungry birds, so they have developed the hide-by-day strategy.

The reason for this is predator avoidance. Unlike some other spiders which construct a web and stay in it both day and night, Garden Orb-weavers remove the web at dawn each day, and construct a new one each night. Once the spider has this initial line in place, it can move out along it to build the rest of the web. The spider continues to do this until is has a line attached to a suitable site. The silk is so light that the slightest breeze will carry it, and it will float on the wind until it snags against a solid object. When the spider is ready to build a web, it moves to a high vantage point, puts the tip of its abdomen in the air, and releases a steady flow of silk from its spinnerets. The answer is simple – the air carries it. One thing that often perplexes people is how they get their web from one place to another. The web is a classic round ‘orb’ web, which is suspended in a position that is likely to be a flight path for insects. Garden Orb-weavers are harmless spiders and are fascinating to watch as they construct their intricate webs.

Nocturnal spiders