This very striking spider was in the grass on the edge of the ramp down to the watermeadow. It looked very striking, though small 10-15mm, with a tan body, pale stripe behind its head flanked by dark stripes and dark leaf-shaped markings either side of the abdomen. It has pale ‘tear marks’ at the sides of its eyes visible if you zoom in.
The peak time for adults is May-July, but they can be seen in most months of the year. They live in tall vegetation i.e. brambles and stinging nettles in grassland, scrub, field edges, gardens, and marsh edges
Nursery web spiders are so-called because the female carries her eggs around with her in a sack and just before they are due to hatch she builds them a silk tent and deposits them inside. The baby spiders live there until after their first moult and the female stays close to the tent until the spiderlings have left it. That is the only use for the spider-silk, as they do not spin webs. Instead, they hunt down their prey – flies and small insects – by running after and capturing them.