Araneus quadratus Araneus quadratus Araneus quadratus, the four-spot orb-weaver, is a common orb-weaver spider found in Europe and Central Asia, and as far as the Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan. Females can reach 17 mm in length, especially when gravid, males approximately half that. They are quite variable in appearance, ranging from brown to bright orange or green, but they always have the characteristic four white spots on the abdomen. The darker color morphs are easiest to identify, due to the contrast between the white spots and the rest of the body. The legs are sometimes brightly striped. The spider lives in gardens,
Kyoto Botanical Garden Trees; European Style Garden; Flower Bed; Hydrangea Garden; Japanese Iris Garden; Japanese Native Plants; Lotus Pond; Nakaragi-no-mori Pond (trees native to the Yamashiro Basin); Peony Garden; Perennial and Useful Plants Garden; Sunken Garden; and the Uma Grove. The garden also contains a very substantial conservatory complex (4,694 m²) containing about 25,000 specimens representing 4,500 species. It is a set of rooms shaped to resemble the nearby Kinkaku-ji Temple and Kyoto's northern mountains, built of glass with iron frames, and opened in 1992. It currently contains the following areas: Ananas Room; Aquatic and Carnivorous Plants; Bromeliads Room; Desert and Savanna Plants