Four Spot Orb Weaver

aka Shelob

A day of irritating little annoyances eventually made me head outdoors. Finally a nice day, a little interaction with the outdoors and some peace and quiet seemed a much better idea. Pooch agreed. It's important to know where the reset button is.

I've always been a fan of arachnids, and if you're not then you should be too. They're just so different, beautiful and, well, fascinating.

Take this fantastic not-so-little lady. Books tell me she can grown to 17mm, well she was certainly at least that, one of the largest spiders I've seen in the UK. I've other pics that indicate the four spots better, which is good as colour wouldn't be reliable for her - she can change to suit her habitat, a process that takes about three days. She's also immensely powerful. She builds a large and very strong web out in the open, and then conceals herself in a little retreat from where she can pounce. The Web is close to the ground - specifically so she can catch jumping insects such as grasshoppers - but today she had a hoverfly. And that takes a lot of speed and strength as a hoverfly (and I'd suspect a grasshopper) can usually tear itself free of most webs.