During this past week one of Belinda's childminding children found an orange spider on the trunk of our Horse Chestnut tree. Closer inspection revealed it was clearly a female orb weaver sp - the question was - which one? I posted a picture on Twitter and got several different suggestions - Garden Orb Weaver, Marbled Orb Weaver and Four-spot Orb Weaver. It was a reply from British Spiders that really caught my eye however as they declared it wasn't typical of any UK species! They said that it would need microscopic examination or a very good photo of the epigyne on the underside to determine the species.
Roll on a day and we found the beast again - this time guarding a 'sack' of eggs in a hole on the tree. Sadly the day after, as is natural, she died. I have now been asked to send the specimen to an expert in North Wales who will examine it in detail. Watch this space...
This week I also had another interesting garden find - a female Smooth (Common) Newt under a slab I lifted.
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