Walnut Orbweb

Walnut Orbweb Spider (Nuctenea umbratica)

An early breakfast out on the "raptor mound" recently revealed a new species for the garden: the abundantly widespread Walnut Orbweb Spider (Nuctenea umbratica). It was headed back to its daytime hiding place behind a slab of bark, which is slowly separating from the decaying stump of a long-dead Leylandi at the edge of the property. That's one of its favoured hiding spots, apparently; away from buildings, this species is often associated with dead wood. During the day, it hides away. At night, it crawls out and spins a large orb web — the familiar, tidy, circular web we all know and recognise as the classic spiderweb. Then it sits at the centre of that web, waiting for unwary nocturnal insects to blunder into the sticky strands. As with all spiders, the female is larger than the male. Other than that, the sexes are similar in appearance. Their dark colouration, "leathery" look, and distinctively flattened shape help to identify them, as do four pairs of small "dimples" that run down either side of their centre line. Females are found virtually every month of the year, though far less commonly in December and January. Males are more typically summer creatures, with most appearing from May to September. We have lots of time to enjoy these handsome creatures then — here's hoping they don't get too close to our moth trap!