Walnut Orb Weaver - Nuctenea umbratica

Alternative names
Toad Spider
Description

Size: females can grow to 15 mm, males grow to 11 mm. They have a distinctive flattened body, which enable the species to hide in crevices. The walnut colouration of the abdomen gives the species its common name. The darker central portion with zig-zag edges is also typical of the species.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

The Walnut Orb Spider hides away during the day in nooks and crannies or under bark, close to its web and it only emerges to secure any prey that gets trapped in the web.

When to see it

Females of this species can be found all year round, whilst the males are usually seen in summer.

Life History

After dark, it will emerge to construct a new web each evening and can then be seen sitting at the centre of its web waiting for its next meal - hence it has another common name of 'The Evening Spider'.

UK Status

Common and widespread in Britain.

VC55 Status

Common in Leicestershire and Rutland.

Further Information

4,942 British records for this species to 2015.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Toad Spider, Walnut Orb-Weaver Spider
Species group:
Spiders
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Araneae
Family:
Araneidae
Records on NatureSpot:
247
First record:
28/06/1994 (Jon Daws)
Last record:
01/01/2025 (Pugh, Dylan)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

The latest images and records displayed below include those awaiting verification checks so we cannot guarantee that every identification is correct. Once accepted, the record displays a green tick.

In the Latest Records section, click on the header to sort A-Z, and again to sort Z-A. Use the header boxes to filter the list.

Latest images

Latest records