'It can give a nip'

The wonderful (and so say I) BBC current affairs programme 'The One Show' has been a treat this week.

Dr George McGavin has been on hand with his UK spring insect VTs.

He's also been there for the viewers too, sending in their snaps of critters nationwide, wanting analysis. I'd like to say I was an expert of his esteem, but I could personally only identify two of the 'critter pics' sent in by the public. 

The wasp beetle and the much-under-rated and hidden bitey bugger, the woodlouse spider. [RIGHT: Photo courtesy of wildaboutbritain.co.uk].

 

Dr McGavin didn't leave out the fact that the desdera crocata genus can give a 'nip'. Fangs for that George!

Although, he did examine booklice in a woman's kitchen cupboard. I was always lead to believe that booklice are pseudoscorpians [little scorpion-like arachnids with pincers, but no stinger] - saw enough of them when I recently tidied out my own cupboard. [Picture of booklouse/pseudoscorpian included (courtesy augsburg.edu].

Dr George McGavin, by the way, has a website, with fascinating videos. He lectures at Oxford Uni and is also Professor of entymology at the University of Derby.

Read all about him and watch videos here   George McGavin

No fighting in here lads (or ladies!)

Seems these days the eight-legged amongst us come looking for me, rather than the other way around. Spiders can't log on to arachipedia, .... can they?.....

No sooner had I snapped the long-jawed orb-weaver and uploaded it, I had barely packed away my camera before I made a quick visit to the loo, and in a very grimy and dusty corner of my shower area two spiders were dueling. 

I rushed to grab my cam, thinking this was some mating ritual between one species. However, it was, in fact, one very fat, fearsome-looking female mouse spider [Herpyllus Blackwalli] encroaching onto the territory of a smaller (male I think) tegenaria spider. 

I actually think it's a juvenile Gigantia or Duellica. I can't quite see its markings properly, but can't be sure what else it would be in the house at this time of year. I don't think it's an agrestis (markings are probably wrong). At least I hope it isn't an agrestis anyway. [Hobo spider in the states].

I knew the mouse spider was in the bathroom. I'd seen her a few times before and even warned my mum she was in there just a week ago!

I don't honestly know which would win in a fight, but the mouse spider ran away first. Nor do I know which is the most venomous (to each other), but I presume it must have been the mouse spider that was trespassing, as (to my knowledge) tegenaria spiders are funnel web spiders and mouse spiders generally don't build a web. 

I love spiders, but that pair (considering they are both biting species) might have to go, if I can find them, or if they manage to eat each other - whichever is the sooner!

Stay webwise folks!

Jaw blimey!

While having a nosey at bumblebees in my parents' garden, I snapped this long-jawed orb weaver, presumably on the prowl for afforementioned bees. Unfortunately, the photos aren't the best ever. The light and wind on the bush were playing havoc with the focus on the macro function of my camera. 

I have to admit, I hadn't seen this particular spider in the wild before, and although I definitely knew it was an orb weaver, I couldn't say which one. A member of the Tetragnathidae family, the long-jawed orb weaver is common in the UK, and worldwide. 

Like many orb-weaving spiders in Britain, it has been known to give a bit of a nip. It has lengthy chelicerae (fangs), hence the name 'long-jawed'. 

It is, fortunately to us, nowhere near as massive as the golden orb-weaver (featured elsewhere on this blog) which has been known to capture birds in Australia. 

In case you're wondering, both the long-jawed and golden orb-weavers are harmless to humans!