A spider and a slug.

I have been wondering what is the species of spider that I often see in my greenhouse - it particularly seems to like hiding between stacks of thin wooden strips that I use as shelving to rest my pots and trays on stacked up. When I am not using the strips I pile them up so that they don't cast too much shade of the borders below, and it is here that I find the spiders. They are present throughout the year.

Then, the other day I went in my greenhouse and a few minutes later I realised I had a spider in my hair. When I got it out I took this photo (below). Today I have used the Collins Field Guide to Spiders by Michael J. Roberts to identify the species. It looks as if it is Nuctenea umbratica - an orb web spider that specialises in catching moths. Apparently they make a fresh web every day. By day they shelter in crevices, which, in "nature" would have been under loose bark. Since humans have created many other sorts of "man-made" crevices the spiders now use items such as rotting window frames, fence posts and road signs; or in my example, greenhouse shelves.

The spiders themselves are distinctive for looking leathery and flattened; making them well adapted to access their daytime refuges. Males and females look similar, and I am not sure which this is. These spiders are capable of biting people, though I'm glad to say my passenger didn't bother me - it just had a ride in to my house and back! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuctenea_umbratica

Nuctenea umbratica

This is a photo that I took a few years ago. It shows the flattened body of this spider species, and the beautiful markings on its abdomen.

Another species which I often see in my garden is this slug. It is a Green Cellar Slug  Limacus maculatus. There are often groups of this species in the damp, warm atmosphere of  my plastic compost bin where I assume they feed on rotting kitchen waste.