Strawberry Spider - Araneus alsine

Adult female Strawberry Spider. Kent. 21st September 2025.

Strawberry Spider - (Araneus alsine)

The Strawberry Spider is one of Britain's most beautiful orb-weavers. Adult females typically grow to a body-length of around 7-13mm, with some specimens occasionally reaching close to 15mm. The smaller males usually reach just 5-6mm, but can reach up to 8.5mm. These stunning little spiders get their common name from their orangey-red colouration and their white-spotted abdomen, which on the redder specimens can resemble a small strawberry. Sometimes their orange / red abdomen can fade to yellow, or even pale green, towards the back end, which further enhances the strawberry-like appearance. Adult males can be distinguished by their smaller size, their far smaller and less rotund abdomen, and their slightly darker leg annulations. The white spots, found on the abdomen of the female, are sometimes less obvious, or even completely absent, on the abdomen of the mature male. The palpal bulb of the adult male is large and very obvious. Photos of the adult male can be seen here and here. Adult males can be found from June until September, with peak numbers recorded in July. Adult females can be found from June until early October, with peak numbers being recorded in September. Mating usually occurs in June and July. The eggs are laid from June until August, and the spiderlings soon hatch. Subadults overwinter and mature in early summer the following year. The life-span of the Strawberry Spider is around one year.

The distinctive retreat of the Strawberry Spider, constructed from dried leaves, and suspended at the edge of the spider's orb-web.

The Strawberry Spider typically builds a vertical orb-web, with a 15-20cm diameter, very close to the ground, amongst long grass and other low vegetation. Being so low to the ground the webs can be difficult to spot. The distinctive feature that helps when trying to locate these webs is the spider's retreat. The Strawberry Spider usually constructs its retreat from one or two small dried leaves, usually those from Birch trees. The leaves are rolled into an inverted cone shape. This cone can usually be found at the edge of the spider's web but sometimes the cone can also be found positioned anywhere in the web too. These cones can often be carefully lifted up without disturbing the spider, which allows the spiders to be photographed whilst stationary, and posed quite nicely for some "in-situ" shots. The Strawberry Spider may sometimes construct its cone-shaped retreat from leaves still growing and attached to the low vegetation upon which the web is fastened.

Damp grassland, bog, and damp woodland clearings are ideal habitat for the Strawberry Spider. Photos of a site in Kent, September 2025.

In the UK the Strawberry Spider is classed as a nationally scarce species. Where found though they can often be quite numerous. The Strawberry Spider is distributed across the UK at a small number of scattered sites, with the largest concentrations being found in south-central and south-east England, and the middle of Scotland. In England this species is most commonly encountered in damp, deciduous woodland clearings, especially those with birch and heather, long grass and shaded areas. In Scotland this species favours swampy bog habitats.

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