Metellina merianae
Length 8 to 12 mm. Quite variable in pattern and colour. Prosoma yellowish green, with irregular black stripes, margin black. Sternum black. Chelicerae red-brown. Legs yellowish green, annulated and spotted irregularly with black. Opisthosoma greenish, brownish to almost black, dorsally with vague folium, ventrally with broad, dark median part.

Variable in appearance, good quality photographs required.
This spider produces an orb web in shady, damp habitats, but is usually found concealed away from its web during the day.
Both sexes have been recorded throughout the year, with peaks in late spring/early summer and late summer/autumn.
Widespread in Britain.
Quite common, in suitable habitats, in Leicestershire and Rutland.
Leicestershire & Rutland Map
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Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015