A 1940 Miss Muffet poster promoting reading by children. Click on the image to find out more...
I am by nature an arachnophobe, and on the off-chance you are, too, I am starting off with a pretty tame Miss Muffet picture, so you still have a chance to turn back before you get to the spider pictures.
One of my former editors insisted we did not print big pictures of spiders in our morning paper as he did not want people turning the page and choking over their porridge (or curds and whey).
Why do I dislike spiders? Who knows? Read this blog post – A gentle introduction to my spiders… unless that was what pointed you to this gallery in the first place.
Although I shudder at spiders, I am also fascinated by them and in 2010 I vowed to try to identify them and photograph them instead of stamping on them.
A rainbow sheen on garden spider webs in October 2009
I did have a bit of a setback the other week when spring-cleaning the garage. Sorry, I cannot tell a lie, I did squish a couple.
However, I then got back on track when I saw movement on the carpet one bright morning and realised it was a woodlouse spider (Dysdera crocata). These big (but not huge) red-legged things REALLY made me cringe when I was a child, but this time I found an old drinking glass and trapped it while I went for my camera. Although they are soft-focus, I am quite pleased with the pictures…
Woodlouse spider under glass...
Then a few days later I managed to snap a tiny zebra spider (Salticus scenicus) on a sunny wall, so I feel I am back on track and it’s time to publish my finds…
To help me in my inquiries, I have bought a wonderful little laminated fold-out chart from the Field Studies Council. Only £2.75 and I would recommend it and all the other guides to nature available. I usually pick up one or two from the shop when I am visiting tourist attractions such as gardens, nature reserves and ancient monuments.
Part of the house and garden spiders identification guide from the Field Studies Council. Click on the image to go to a page where you can order one...
I have also found this Eurospiders website very useful.
I am trying to identify as many spiders as I can and take pictures of them. Here are my successes in alphabetical order by Latin name. If you are an expert, please advise me if you think I have got any of them wrong…
Amaurobius similis or fenestris – lace webbed spiders
Amaurobius similis or lace webbed spider - I think. Although it's a small one...
I spotted this on June 1, 2011 - I think it's an Amaurobius fenestris (or similis) eating a very small woodlouse spider (Dysdera crocata). The whole scene was only a couple of centimetres across...
Another moment in the meal of the Amaurobius fenestris (or similis)...
Don't you just love the eyes? The Amaurobius fenestris (or similis) again...
This is taken on June 22, 2011. It's probably the same spider as above, this time eating a cranefly, which I had seen struggling in the web five minutes earlier. I think now it IS Amaurobius similis...
I knew I was making headway in my phobia battle when the above Amaurobis (I think it’s the same one) walked through the back door and I resisted the opportunity to splat it. Out with the glass again and a piece of card and I managed to get some more pictures – although not very good this time – before I released the spider in the garden…
Amaurobis under glass on July 16, 2011...
The Amaurobis very much wanted to get away - don't you just love those waving palps?
Amaurobis under glass with palps down...
With hindsight I think these spiders on a wall in September 2010 may also be Amaurobius fenestris (or similis)...
A close-up of the pair...
Araneus diadematus or garden spider
Araneus diadematus or garden spider in its web
Rear view of Araneus diadematus or garden spider in its web
Araneus diadematus or garden spider making its web
A perfect garden spider web in October 2009
Araneus diadematus, August 17, 2011
Underside of an Araneus diadematus, August 17, 2011
Plump Araneus diadematus wrapping its prey, September 24, 2011
Plump Araneus diadematus feeding, September 24, 2011
Plump Araneus diadematus feeding, September 24, 2011
A female Araneus diadematus, October 2, 2011 - not a very good picture but you can just see the small pink epigyne, part of the genital apparatus...
Araneus quadratus or four-spot orb-weaver
I think this may be an Araneus quadratus or four-spot orb-weaver, although I first thought it was a Zygiella - however, those are sector-web weavers and this spider had no sectors missing in its perfect web...
Dictyna arundinacea or mesh webbed spider
Dictyna arundinacea or mesh webbed spider (I think) - possibly a male because of the small abdomen?
Dysdera crocata or woodlouse spider
Dysdera crocata or woodlouse spider on carpet, under glass
Dysdera crocata or woodlouse spider on carpet, under glass
Dysdera crocata or woodlouse spider on carpet, under glass
Dysdera crocata or woodlouse spider on carpet, under glass
Enoplognatha ovata or comb-footed cobweb weaver
Enoplognatha ovata, a comb-footed spider, September 5, 2012…
I spotted the spider above just as I was leaving for work, so grabbed my camera and did my best, although it wouldn’t keep still (not surprising as I was picking it up by its web-line and dragging it back on to the window ledge again and again). It’s slightly out of focus, but I am pretty sure it is an Enoplognatha ovatus.
Linyphia triangularis or sheet web spider
Linyphia triangularis or sheet web spider
Linyphia triangularis (I think) eating a fly...
Same Linyphia triangularis - fly wings everywhere...
I think this spider on a Fuchsia from November 2010 may also be a Linyphia triangularis
Another sheet-web weaver, but very small...
And another of the same sort, getting bigger every day as we near the end of June 2011...
Possibly a Linyphia, October 1, 2011...
Metellina segmentata or orb web spider
Metellina segmentata or orb web spider
Another view of Metellina segmentata or orb web spider
Metellina segmentata making a web on the outside door of the office where I work, August 26, 2011
The picture above was taken with my phone, as I had no camera to hand. It is a Metellina segmentata making a web on the outside door of the building where I work. I spotted it hanging around as I was on my way back into the office at lunchtime on August 26, 2011.
Possibly a Metellina, hiding under a leaf near its orb web, October 1, 2011...
Metellina segmentata, October 15, 2011
Metellina segmentata, October 15, 2011
Metellina segmentata, October 15, 2011
Pardosa amentata or wolf spider
Pardosa amentata or wolf spider - with only seven legs - it's about an inch from leg-end to leg-end
It was 10pm on July 30, 2011, when I spotted this spider on the bathroom wall. The improvement in my phobia is demonstrated by the fact that although I was barefoot and scantily clad, I reached for my camera, not a slipper to splat it.
At the time I thought it was a small and still growing house spider (Tegenaria gigantea) and maybe I had finally overcome my biggest scary challenge. But no, when I checked against a guide later I decided it was a wolf spider, Pardosa amentata. And you will see it has only seven legs. It was about half the size of this image.
When I thought I had a decent picture, I gently grabbed the spider with some tissue paper and dropped it in the loo, where it was still alive and waving when I last saw it and flushed it away…
Wolf spider on Betterware catalogue, August 26, 2011...
Then on August 26, 2011, I brought in a Betterware catalogue from the garage and put it on the kitchen worktop. And then I saw a big black spider on it. Under my current regime of photographing spiders instead of splatting them, I didn’t flinch too much and got my mug to put over it. Then I realised it was INSIDE the plastic bag. So I carefully carried it out to the yard table and kept it trapped while I took pictures. It was, I believe, another Pardosa amentata wolf spider. But this time, with those big palps, perhaps it’s a male?
Pholcus phalangioides or daddy-long-legs spider
Translucent Pholcus phalangioides or daddy-long-legs spider on an outside wall
Pholcus phalangioides or daddy-long-legs spider indoors
Pholcus phalangioides or daddy-long-legs spider on a plant on the kitchen window-ledge, July 2, 2011
The same Pholcus phalangioides or daddy-long-legs spider, July 2, 2011 - it has only seven legs...
A close-up of the head of the same Pholcus phalangioides or daddy-long-legs spider, July 2, 2011
Pholcus phalangioides on underside of dustbin lid with baby spiders
On October 11, 2011, I lifted the lid on a wheelie bin not used for months and it was swarming with daddy-long-legs spiders and hundreds of their wispy babies.
Many of the fragile little things were already crushed and my using the bin didn’t help, but there was still plenty of movement when I took these pictures a little later. Maybe most of the dead ones were actually moults? Do they go through ecdysis at such an early stage in their lives?
Pholcus phalangioides on underside of dustbin lid with baby spiders
Pisaura acoreensis or nursery web spider
Pisaura acoreensis, a small nursery web spider, August 18, 2011
This small spider (about 1.5cm long, minus the legs) was startled when I took a bag of bird food out of a storage bin. I think it is Pisaura acoreensis, a nursery web spider.
A closer look at the Pisaura acoreensis, a small nursery web spider, August 18, 2011
Pisaura mirabilis or nursery web spider
Pisaura mirabilis or nursery web spider - what a beauty! I wouldn't have spotted it, but it moved...
Salticus scenicus or zebra spider
Tiny Salticus scenicus or zebra spider on a sunny wall
Segestria senoculata or tube-web spider (possibly)
Segestria senoculata or tube-web spider - I think - it was only small and not particularly scary...
Steatoda grossa or cellar spider, cupboard spider, false widow
Lovely shiny black spider wrapping a woodlouse...
I spotted this lovely shiny black spider on a garage wall first thing in the morning on October 10, 2011, and took the pictures with my phone, so they are not bad, really.
I think it's a Steatoda grossa...
I searched on the internet for an identification and went through many options:
Zelotes latreilli? I don’t think so, that’s too thick-set and greyish almost hairy, with no brown sheen.
Euryopis episinoides? I don’t think so, that’s too wasp-waisted.
Dipoena torva? Again, is that too wasp-waisted? Also mine has no trace of striped legs…
Steatoda bipunctata? That’s too pale in colour.
Steatoda grossa? Yes I think that’s it, although in some pictures it is too light and patterned and in some too dark and blue-black…
Getting to grips with the woodlouse...
It really is a chunky one, isn't it?
Tegenaria gigantea
Tegenaria gigantea, very hard to spot, on the concrete of the wet yard, April 28, 2012...
Hooray! On April 28, 2012, I finally “captured” a giant house spider, Tegenaria gigantea…
It was unexpected, too! At this time of year you don’t see many spiders. It has been a cold and wet April and I was just taking a cloth bag of new lily bulbs out from the garage into the yard to plant them in a pot. The spider dropped off the bag and on to the wooden table.
I was SO pleased with myself. I genuinely didn’t have that usual back-of-the-neck “aaargh” feeling but genuinely thought oh, that’s interesting! I ALMOST touched it, just to show I could.
It moved slowly and then dropped through a slat in the table and landed on the wet ground of the yard. Where it just stood still, for ages. It gave me the chance to grab my camera, although the pictures aren’t very good as it was so well camouflaged.
All I can say is that it is just as well I didn’t see this “giant house spider” in the house, or my attitude would have been very different and I probably would have splatted it. I haven’t seen one indoors for years – clearly because they are living in the garage.
Did it survive the cold, wet weather? Did it sneak back into the garage? I’ve no idea, but an hour or two later it had eventually moved away from the spot where I photographed it.
A slightly different view showing the markings on the abdomen of the Tegenaria gigantea...
Tetragnatha or long-jawed orb-weaver
I think this is a Tetragnatha or long-jawed orb weaver, possibly Tetragnatha dearmata, but I took the picture last summer, before I had decided to identify spiders...
Xysticus cristatus or crab spider
Xysticus cristatus or crab spider on clover, August 1, 2011
On August 1, 2011, in very bright, hot sun, I went to Badbury Rings in Dorset. I didn’t realise I had caught this picture of a crab spider on clover until I looked at my pictures later. A bit annoying, as I would have tried for a better shot if I had seen it.
I think it’s a Xysticus cristatus, probably female, rather than the more delicate Misumena vatia crab spider. I think both come in a range of colours, or maybe even they can change colour to suit their background. Certainly this one is quite pink like the clover.
A closer look at the crab spider...
Zygiella x-notata
Zygiella x-notata making its orb web - or possibly stopping to eat some fluff - July 14, 2011
I spotted this at 6am, making its orb web by the front door. But it was in silhouette in the bright sun and I never had a chance to see it again properly. However, by the shape I think it is a Zygiella x-notata.
Zygiella x-notata making its orb web, July 14, 2011
Then on September 2, 2011, there was a spider inside a window frame. This isn’t it, but when I knocked it out through the fanlight, it disturbed this Zygiella’s orb web, and the owner came out for its close-up…
Zygiella x-notata on its web outside a window corner, September 2, 2011
I’m now starting to call this spider Ziggy – and here he/she is again, bundling a fly and sucking it dry on September 8, 2011…
Zygiella x-notata wrapping a fly on September 8, 2011
Zygiella x-notata feeding on a fly, September 8, 2011
Red spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) on ivy in the garden, June 11, 2011
This is an orb weaver - garden spider or Araneus diadematus (see above) I think - but at the end of May 2011 it was only the size of a pinhead...
A different day in June 2011, a different spider, but the same species, I think...
In early June 2011 this orb-weaver was only half the size of a pinhead and eating a tinier white fly. Perhaps a Zygiella x-notata or Cyclosa conica?
Another tiny unidentified one, as above...
Another tiny spider in its orb web on June 9, 2011...
Zooming in on the tiny orb-web spider on June 9, 2011...
Then there is the harvest spider or harvestman, Phalangium opilio…
Harvestman in the rain, August 2010...
I leave this until last as the harvestman is not a spider. It has eight legs, but its body is like a single bead, unlike the separate head/thorax and abdomen of spiders. You might say it has no waist.
It also does not make webs and does not produce venom. Read a lot more about harvestmen on the UK Safari blog…
Harvestman with cherry stone on a Tiarella leaf, September 2010...
Harvestman on a wall, September 2010...
Harvestman on a gate in Dorset, August 2010...
Outstanding article..you are so creative.. ?This would have made a great write for ” Hallows Eve” known as Halloween in America..I am still itching and my feet are propped up. Believe I am by NO means a spider expert, but could it possibly be a “Buzzing spider ? or a Sac spider ( they love ivy leaves and loose bark)..I remember only those two from my childhood, while in Nannas’ garden.
sorry I couldn’t be of more help..Thank you for sharing your spider project, don’t know that I could have done that…eeeekkkkk…weedbychoice..kjforce
Thanks for your kind comments.
I think I started this spider project in autumn last year (not too far from Halloween), but only now have I made enough progress. I must remember to mention it again this October!
Funnily enough, I did consider the buzzing spider, from the picture on the identification chart I have, but dismissed it as I didn’t hear the thing buzz! Apparently it buzzes with its abdomen against a leaf.
I have considered it again now, but when I checked, I found the buzzing spider, Anyphaena accentuata, does not make a web, and there is one in my picture. It would have helped if I had looked more closely when I took the photo – but that was last year, before I had the ID chart.
Any other thoughts?
Best wishes…
Just to say I think I now have identified the mystery spider – mainly because I saw another one in the garden today and photographed it. It made me realise it was a Linyphia triangularis, while the one I had labelled as a Linyphia was actually an Enoplognatha ovata or comb-footed cobweb weaver. So there we have it…
I also caught a snap of the nursery web spider when it moved quickly in a pot near where I was taking my pictures…
Inspirational. I saw a spider in the broccoli today and admired it, but didn’t even think to try to identify him. Maybe I will.
I’m very happy this is catching on. I’ve got one of my workmates doing it now, as well! And the other day someone accidentally brought a medium-sized spider into the office and when we spotted it, instead of killing it, we used it to scare somebody (as you do) and then put it somewhere safe. My colleague said don’t worry, it’ll eat the carpet mites…
I love your potatoes, by the way – they look SO healthy!
I love your spider investigation. Back in the 1990s, I decided to confront my fear of spiders and took a spider identification course. This was part of a biology summer field camp class offerings at the Sierra Nevada station of San Francisco State University, near Yuba Pass. Every summer, there are 1 week, 1 unit college credit, courses in field investigations, including spiders, bats, mushrooms, freshwater algae, flowers, birds, astronomy, geology, American Indian uses of native plants, etc. Here is a link to their 2011 offerings:
http://www.sfsu.edu/~sierra/Courses.html
Because the camp has been ongoing since the late 1980s, there is a wealth of knowledge accumulated about this unique area, and many field guides. Because there are a limited number of species to identify, and the guides and teachers to facilitate the learning, it is a great opportunity to gain confidence in these field studies. Many of the teachers are researchers at California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park.
The classes spend the entire day in the field, then come back in the afternoon or early evening and spend time with microscopes. There are lectures and discussions, and it is an intense experience. There are a diverse group of people including young college students to retirees. Many teachers take these courses to get credit for their credentials.
People stay in tent cabins, and there is a dining hall that serves usually excellent food. People tend to repeat coming to these classes, year after year, so it builds friendships.
Early in the summer, Cornell Lab of Ornithology gives an intense bird recording workshop, and then the Nature Sound Society out of the SF Bay Area gives an annual weekend workshop in Nature Sound Recording, which is geared more toward recording the ambient sounds of different ecosystems, rather than focusing on single birds. This area is one of the few in the U.S. where there is enough silence to do decent recordings. There are very few planes flying.
Lea Cox
Excellent projects. Wish I could join you
And I’m glad it’s for retired people as well as students. Maybe one day I’ll look for something similar in my own area.
I envy you your “limited number of species to identify” – even now I often see insects I have never seen before, and that’s just in my garden!
And talking of “use of native plants”, I wonder if you are familiar with my recently identified alien “gallant soldiers” plant, native to the Americas and used for various medical purposes.
Best wishes…
Thank you for this page!! I am a life-long arachnophobe too, but when I moved into my own apartment and had to deal with spiders on my own, I decided to take the high road and learned to capture and release. And like you – it spurred an intense curiosity in these amazing creatures. They still scare the crap out of me, but my intrigue outways my terror.
Thank you for your comments! I’m glad I’m not alone. Phobias are a funny thing – I wouldn’t say I am “scared” of spiders, I just cringe and shudder, but it’s totally illogical. Unless you are in the UK, I wonder what spiders you have? For example I could NOT live in Australia, where spiders are big and actually DANGEROUS!
Best wishes