Spider in its Web

The garden spider or cross spider is one of the more common (and quite harmless) spiders that builds large circular webs. This one is a european garden spider or diadem spider (Araneus diadematus) which my daughter found in our garden:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Back lit diadem spider in its web."] [/caption]

In this image, I like the way the sunlight shines through the lighter parts of the spiders body, making it appear that the spider glows from within.

As I was watching the spider and photographing it I saw it catch three small flies in its web. I guess that pretty soon this spider is going to be quite a bit larger ...