The orb of Araneus diadematus is made of two kinds of silk. The frame and the radii are dry and strong. Only the spiral laid down last is coated with glue, deposited as droplets along the thread, and the spider keeps to the dry radii when it crosses its own web.
Silk is expensive, so it is recycled. A worn or damaged orb is taken down by ingesting it, and the amino acids recovered appear in the next web. Rebuilding is frequently a daily job, done in under an hour, usually around dawn.
Construction follows a fixed sequence but is not rigid. The spider begins with a bridge line, drops a Y-shaped frame, lays radii, adds a temporary spiral for scaffolding, then replaces it with the sticky capture spiral, adjusting mesh size and web area to the space, the wind and its own recent success at catching prey.