Face to face!

Apologies to arachnaphobes, but there's nothing better than getting right up close to invertebrates. I found this spider flattened under a seed tray when I was pricking out seedlings. At first I thought it had been crushed and was dead, but it gradually came to life and I realised it was a species of spider that squeeves itself under bark or in narrow crevices in fences during the day, emerging at night to spin an orb web. It is Nuctenea umbratica, the only member of this genus to be found in Britain.