Little Miss Muffet...

...would probably have missed this one. It's only a couple of millimetres including it's legs! How I got this in focus without a tripod I will never know.

Walking the dogs is always a good opportunity to get a nature blip, but with the bracken taller than I in places, it limits access to food plants where insects congregate. I have been hankering after a walk on the Downs but with the black clouds looming, one thought of clay ridden dogs and I headed back to the Greensand.

This is an orb web spider and I am assuming it is a Metellina segmentata but, if I have got it wrong, please somebody help!!
The spider is upside down and what you see is it's belly and, if you go large, you can see the silk coming from it's spinner gland as it moves,

They are probably the commonest orb spiders and easily found in most woodland and field environments. Their webs hang anywhere from ground to almost 2 meters in height and they catch anything unable to fly through their webs.

There are over 600 species of spider in the UK. My Collins field guide describes 450 of these from here and northern Europe and is a nightmare! Most spiders, beyond the general family, are identifiable only by the dissection and under powerful microscopes. I'm not that able!

Thank you all for your support. The Violet Ground Beetle hit the spotlight page, sort of proving they can be found in the most extraordinary places!

Anyway enjoy the photo, I'm off for my curds and whey!