A White-banded Orbweb

I was surprised and delighted to see this spider in my apple tree. I have not seen one for several years, since the golden hunting wasps moved in. At first she was sitting on a leaf monitoring a guideline attached to her orb web. I could not see the web with my naked eye, only in the macro lens. Later I took another look and found she had lowered herself on a thread. It was necessary to use the flash because the light was very poor due to the shade under the tree and heavy clouds.

This is a female. About five years ago I blipped a male. They are New Zealand natives.

Another praying mantis adult- this time an advanced nymph I saw yesterday was an adult on the same leaf today. There are several more looking ready.

Today was gloomy, which kept the temperature in the mid twenties. Quite a relief.