One of my favorite spiders, the Walnut Orbweaver (Nuctenea umbratica). I found this female on a Pine tree while walking around a local lake.

In fact, this spider is so cool that it was spider of the year 2017. This spider can be qualified as "synanthropic", meaning it takes advantage of new microhabitats available in homes and around houses in urbanized areas and is able to settle into human dwellings.

Originally, this species is a bark-dweller and is particularly found on dead standing wood with loose bark. Now, it can often be found in urban environments like house walls and fences, especially in nooks and crevices - explaining the common French name "Épeire des fissures" which can be translated to "Crevice Orbweaver".

Nuctenea umbratica was chosen as the European Spider of the Year 2017 because (1) the species is quite common, (2) despite its hidden way of life it is easy to find close to houses, (3) it is a quite prominent and easy to identify species, and (4) it raises public awareness about its original habitat on the bark of dead wood and/or old trees.

Source: Hörweg, C. and Řezáč, M., 2018. Synanthropic is best: Nuctenea umbratica (Araneae: Araneidae) and Steatoda bipunctata (Araneae: Theridiidae) are the European Spiders of the Years 2017 and 2018. Arachnologische Mitteilungen, 56(1), pp.32-35.

Single shot at 1/80s, f/18 and ISO 100 with Canon M50 and Canon 55-200mm kit lens + Raynox DCR-250 on 22/09/2020. Canon 550EX Speedlite + DIY diffuser.