Araneus diadematus orb web Spider (female)

Araneus diadematus Clerk, Araneidae. Orb web Spider, European garden spider. Distribution: Europe and North America. Bite is unpleasant but not dangerous. Spiders webs have been used to stop bleeding from wounds (Stearns, 1801). They probably work by providing a framework for platelets to coagulate. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.