Green Leaf Web Spider Nigma walckenaeri

The Green Leaf Web Spider is not native to Britain but is prevalent over much of Eurasia and North Africa. It was first recorded in England in 1880 and it was suspected that it had been imported on plants by Kew Gardens. Through the 1900s it was known only around the London area but has now spread further.

It is a prettily-marked green spider which gives it good camouflage on green leaves where it lives and builds its web on leaf surfaces to catch prey.

The camouflage doesn't work so well on yellow leaves where this one is spreading web over the surface.

They are some 5mm long. Females have green heads (with white frosty hairs) and males have brown.

Can this over-sized, faintly-marked light green monstrosity with frosted white hair on brown really be the same spider?