Expectant Mum

I found this large vagrant spider under a big plastic pot that was standing in leaf litter below a bush. She is about 20mm long. Her abdomen is rather slim for a female, but perhaps she has put a lot into building her egg sac.

Vagrant spiders, (aka prowling spiders), hide during the daytime in webs they make for the purpose. They hunt ground dwelling creatures at night, and are themselves the prey of big hunting wasps. We have possibly 20 native vagrants, but only three have been named so far. This belongs to the Uliodon species.

After taking the photo I carefully replaced the pot, as I was afraid she might abandon her eggs.