Subject: What is this spider.
Geographic location of the bug: London UK
Date: 01/13/2018
Time: 04:09 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: What’s this one called? Less than size of 5p.
How you want your letter signed: Steve
Dear Steve,
This is a harmless Orbweaver in the family Araneidae, and its black coloration is quite unusual. We quickly identified it on UK Safari as a Walnut Orbweaver, Nuctenea umbratica. According to the site: “Found mostly under the bark of dead trees, garden sheds, washing lines, and sometimes show up inside houses” and “Walnut Orb-weavers are quite timid and usually only venture out at night. As the name suggests they catch their prey in a web.” According to Euro Spiders: “The Walnut orb-weaver, Nuctenea umbratica, is quite flat. It hides under cracks in the bark of trees during the days and spins a small orb web in the night. It can sustain as low temperatures as minus 19 degrees Celsius.”