Walnut Orb-Weaver Spider Moulting

A Walnut Orb-Weaver (Nuctenea umbratica) moulting

Something that I've never seen before, a spider moulting, shedding its exoskeleton. I was photographing jumping spiders on a gate when I noticed this spider appear on the side of the gatepost. As I approached the spider, I thought it looked as so it was perched in an unusually upright position. Once I got closer and saw the carapace cap hanging down, I knew I was about to witness something pretty unique and that the jumping spiders would have to wait.

The actual moult took around 40 minutes to complete. It's not surprising that spiders often don't survive this process, given the effort it takes to complete and also how vulnerable they are to predation during this time.