Silver-sided sector spider Zygiella x-notata
Most of the Orb-web Spiders live in the garden. However there is one clear exception: Zygiella x-notata. The Zygiella spiders are sometimes referred to as Marble Heads. There are various species, but the best known are Z. x-notata, which lives on walls and windows and the closely related Z. atrica which lives on bushes and trees. The web they make is rather identical to that of the Garden Spider, but there is always one sector missing. Not only the spider itself is much smaller (7 mm) than the Garden Spider is, the web is also much smaller. Zygiella x-notata is a nocturnal animal. During the day it sits in its retreat (a crack in the wall or rather an opening between wall and window) and stays there, even when the web gets destroyed. The missing sector is the part where the signaling wire runs through. It is a very common spider, found all over Europe, except for parts far in the north, such as Finland. Not as often seen as some of the other house spiders because of its nocturnal life and its readiness to seek shelter in its retreat should something happen.
In the top picture is the rather big female, in the bottom picture the much smaller male.
