Spider for id please

[MattPrince]

Good Morning Juliet,

To be honest z-x-n (nice shortening Nick) normally has a distinctive web nearby, with a missing sector - nearby - hence "missing sector orb weaver" is sometimes used for a name (even more of a mouthful !).

A lot of spiders can be difficult to identify even to family from a photograph, you need to catch a number of, often very small, features : eye arrangement is particularly useful, mouth structure, spinner arrangements, leg claws, leg spines, the dreaded calamistrum and sensory hairs or tricobothria. Then to identify to species you normally need to check out the external genitalia.

In this case though.. A slightly different angle on the abdomen (slightly from one side) might be enough to rule zygiella x-notata in or out, especially with a bit more light.. If you can also get the front end as well, even better.

Regardless of ID this brief abstract about z-x-n guarding egg-sacs may be of interest.

Cheers,
Matt

p.s. Nik - just wondering if the low light levels are making the legs look more clearly annulated than normal.

[Juliet1200]

I tried unsuccessfully to get more pics a few days ago, I was going to have another go this weekend but she's disappeared now

I know better what to try and get photos of for next time now though, thanks for all the helpful comments

[Dogghound]

I would leave it as Meta,

[Jason Green]

It's Zygiella X-notata, caught in poor light. Look at the two lateral black bars either side of the abdominal join!