It's answer time!

I asked: "Which of the spiders below isn't a UK native?"

It was ages ago. Few answers came in, but all were wrong! I kind of wanted to have that result! Once again giving spiders a [ninth] leg to stand on, my mini-poll proved we fear things that are slightly different or provocative.

The plain-looking [A] picture is a white-tail spider. A fearsome foe to those down under. Not particularly dangerous, but capable of a bite you'd know about. Can pack a punch and capable of a bugger of a bite! This was the correct answer.

The interestingly fearsome [B] picture is of a woodlouse spider. Common in the UK.

The gorgeous [C] is a Ladybird Spider. Admittedly, they ARE a bit hard to come by, but are found in the UK and are totally harmless!

The results were....
A: 0 %
B: 66 %
C: 16 %
None: 16%

All credit to blogger for a percentage that doesn't add up!

Widows peak!

It's been a while since I last blogged. Somewhat of a fail for a site that self acclaims itself as Britain's most frequently updated spider blog!
But I hope the following covers all bases. Click on highlighted words for more/previous posts within this article.

From time to time, people do actually visit this site [I KNOW - it surprises me too] and send me emails asking for identification of spiders. Many are simply common housespiders and (I admit) some are too obscure or small and I struggle to put a name to a fang, with my knowledge.
But of all the spider photos I've received while this site has been online, I received a photo of one of my personal holy grails recently, and probably of many amateur arachnologist in the UK.
The photo above is of a False Widow Spider (Steatoda Nobilis). One of a number of spiders in the UK related to the Redbacks of Australia and the much maligned Black Widow (Lactrodectus)

The contributor who sent the photo merely asked for identification of a spider she and her husband found in their kitchen in the South East of England. This immediately rang true, as their British hotbed is in the South East.
It's not a particularly dangerous spider, compared to its neurotoxin-laden cousins elsewhere on earth, but it has a bit of a tabloid reputation for being Britain's most venomous spider. If the links I've placed on the words above work, you can read more about Steatoda Nobilis elsewhere on my blog.

This BBC One Show video explains the Steatoda genus. It initially reports on Steatoda Grossa, which is an obvious twin of the black widow. The later part of the report features the Nobilis. CLICK HERE

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THE GOOD OLD BBC ONE Show did itself proud again on Thursday (21/10/10) {BST}

Dr George McGavin, fresh from his jaunts in The Land of the Lost Tiger (BBC TV), went on the hunt for the Tube Web Spider (segestria) in the UK to demonstrate this arachnid's amazing ability to sense prey at the entrance to its silken tube.
A few months back, Dr George did a similar report about the woodlouse hunting spider (dysdera crocata) and actually let the female hunter sink its fangs into his finger as an example of how SOME British spiders give a significant bite. I, of course went a bit naughty with a woodlouse spider and watched it eat another spider. WATCH HERE!
I noticed he didn't do the same with the tube web, which One Show presenter Alex Jones incorrectly described in George's intro as 'funnel web'.
The tube web is another Mediterranean export, like the False Widow. And it too gives a painful bite. Has nice irridescant green fang casings though! BBC Devon recently made this report
Interestingly, I read that the tube web is one of the three largest spiders found in the UK. To my knowledge, the top three were raft spiders (dolomedes), cave spiders (meta menardi) and the Giant Housespider (Tegenaria Duellica).

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Have I got screws for you.

The BBC TV show Have I got News for You, in its 'missing words round', treated anyone who wasn't previously afraid of spiders, but might possibly be now, to a pun about 'giant sex-mad spiders in your home'.
This was a reference to the giant housespider (Tegenaria Duellica (formerly gigantea)
which is one of three types of large housespider common in UK homes from August to late October.
To be fair, the tabloids must have had a few slow news days with this story making page three in some papers........

"An army of sex mad giant spiders is invading the UK".

Once again, read elsewhere on my blog! The Tegenaria genus, as is similar with other spiders, lurks in your skirting board all year and then the males wander in autumn to look for a mate. That's why you see them scuttling around. They're not after your toes.
Males actually mate (if they find a girlfriend) and then die in front of her through exhaustion. But then the female DOES eat him to build herself up for birth! Not like the black widow, where canabilism takes place immediately after mating!
When you find a big housespider in your bath, the 'sex-mad giant spider' is merely attracted by water droplets on his knackering, thirst inducing quest for a female!
Once again, as I always say, killing spiders does you no favours. They are the ultimate at killing flies, wasps, moths, beetles.
And if you MUST get rid of them, just trap them and put them outside.

Nature's mosquito net!

We all like spiders... right? We all want them to be stronger, larger and more impressive?

Well, it seems there are some amazing specimens out there in Madagascar, where an orb web has been found spanning a river by 80m.
Not only does the newly-discovered Darwin's Bark Spider take the prize for its sheer catchment area, but, according to scientists, its silk has, gram for gram, stronger properties than teflon!
Read about it here

Generally, as I always say, September is spider month in the UK. Great Tegenaria whoppers crawling about looking for their future spouses. There are also many, many cellar spiders around too at the moment.
The BBC's recent Lost Land of the Tiger featured the marvelous Dr George McGavin [alas very few spiders in the programme], although Dr McGavin did recently present a piece on the BBC's One Show, where he volunteered to be bitten by a female woodlouse spider. Rather him than me, but still.. fascinating.

Anyway, happy huntings and please don't squish housespiders.

Crikey it's big!

No, that's not a carry on style header to a rude photo (and I do apologise if that was your search term and it brought you here).
Hmmm, yes, good old housespiders are the topic of conversation here.

I almost get bored of these spiders (surprising when spiders fascinate me).

I've had a few emails, and recently messages on Twitter, asking what these big spiders everyone is seeing at the moment are.
Plainly and simply, they are of the Tegenaria genus. You'll probably see many of them between now and early November. Having said that, they did seem to get sprinting across carpets earlier this year.
Generally they tend to be present from mid-September onwards. I don't really know why they've sprung to life two weeks earlier this year, but it's a bit of a pattern because I remember 2006 being similar.
Tegenaria are a totally harmless spider, but they CAN get quite large. Tegenaria Duellica (formerly Gigantea) can have a leg span of more than 13mm. Aside from the European Cave Spider and the Fen Raft Spider (neither of which you're likely to witness with ease) Tegenaria are undoubtedly the UK's largest arachnid. They once held the record for the world's fastest spider, even beating the Australian/Kiwi Huntsman (also harmless) until, during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan drew people's attention to the Sun Spider or Camel Spider, which can run at 24mph. (However the Camel Spider is a solfigud and is technically a scorpion - I won't get bogged down here!)
So, those big buggers you'll see at this time of year. Can they bite? Back to my old argument. ALL spiders WILL try to bite when trapped. It's all down to how wide they can open their jaws. Generally, Tegenaria spiders (which do have a fairly potent venom) are highly unlikely to be able to widen their jaws enough to pierce flesh.
Tegenaria spiders are not known to bite and even where there have been reports of them biting in the UK, it's usually just an itchy irritation and a red mark.
The possible exception is Tegenaria Agrestis, which, while present in the UK, is feared in the USA, as the infamous 'Hobo Spider', which has lead to necrosis in bites.
The massive spiders you see in your homes in Autumn in the UK are most likely Tegenaria Duellica or Tegenaria Domestica. If you're really lucky (or unlucky if yo hate them) you might spot the rarer Tegenaria Atrica.
All four main Tegenaria species mate in autumn and go looking for some eight-legged naughtiness at this time of year. You're more likely to see a male than a female. They are easy to sex. The males have boxing glove-like pedipalps (sex glands) which look like odd feelers at either side of their mouthparts.
Honestly, please respect Tegenaria spiders. They are so harmless you wouldn't believe it. I know people have phobias, but there are worse bugs in our homes than spiders.
I include a photo of a Tegenaria Duellica sent to me for identification via twitter from a tweeter called @Jakemacphereson

He wasn't a fan of the spider he (thankfully) didn't kill, and, to be honest, it is a particularly big one.
This post ends sounding as rude as it started!

ARACHNIPEDIA for 2010

Surprise visit.

I HAVE three favourite spiders. Some would think that weird.

My first being the Australian redback. A Latrodectus spider, closely related to the infamous American black widow (we have far less-dangerous, related steatoda species in the UK, like the Nobilis [false widow] and Bipuncta [rabbit hutch spider]). My second favourite is the Fen raft spider (Dolomedes).
Thirdly, the woodlouse spider (Dysdera Crocata).
I'm particularly curious about the redback, as it is so commonly found in and around houses right across Australia, is dangerous, yet hasn't killed a human in decades. If I ever visited Australia, I'd be looking for redbacks everywhere, both through fear and interest.
The raft spiders are incredibly rare, so I'd also like to see one of them too, as they live in the UK, near streams and eat small fish!
Most of my knowledge about spiders is purely based on what I've read, not what I've seen! I'm enthusiastic about common spiders we find in our homes all the time, but I'm excited when I stumble upon an arachnid I've not only read about, but have taken the time to search for.

Dysdera Crocata (The woodlouse spider) has elluded me for years. Arguably one of Britain's most venomous spiders, it's an unusual looking animal. Red thorax, orange legs. Creamy grey abdomen, and MASSIVE chelicerae.
In fact, despite the fact I've read about this spider in great detail, watched youtube videos, read toxicology reports about its bite, written about it on this site, more than once! (CLICK HERE) (AND HERE), I have to admit I felt a teeny bit tentative when a young male strayed into my bathroom yesterday. I didn't have a light on, but, in semi darkness, identified it in my mind as a mere mouse spider (herpyllus blackwalli). I was wrong!
I was inquisitive and switched on the light. Bloody Hell, it's a woodlouse spider!
They aren't anywhere near deadly. They have a bite with very little neurotoxin, but it is very acidic, much like a wasp sting. People have been hospitalised by these spiders. I've always said though, unless you know which species it is, you should never handle a spider or scorpion.
Woodlouse Spiders aren't endangered, but they are quite unusual to find indoors, or to spot at all really.
They have the largest chelicerae of any spider in the UK, which is scarily obvious when you see one in the flesh!
They're not particularly massive spiders either. Very robust though. Like little, red armoured tanks.

So, the young male I kept from the other night.
It's easily identified as a male. It's abdomen is relatively slender. Females have bulbous abdomens. Males have a massive thorax. As with all spiders, the male has pedipalps (boxing glove-like bulbous feelers either side of its mouthparts). Pedipalps are sex organs in the spider world, but not in crustaceans. Evolution is very weird.

The young male dysdera crocata I kept has now been fed. I have him in a container. I found woodlice and he has eaten two.

A small mouse spider (herpyllus blackwalli) wandered into my flat earlier. I trapped it, totally humanely, and, as an experiment, dropped it into the woodlouse spider's tub. The woodlouse spider absolutely desecrated it. As far as I know, dysdera don't predate on other spiders, so I presume it saw it as threat to its food supply.

Anyway, I include some photos. Unfortunately, said Mr Woodlouse Spider chose to fold back his fangs for every picture, but I'll be keeping him for a while, as long as I have a supply of woodlouse! I'm determined to snap those bl**dy massive fangs!
I'm uploading three pictures. One of them shows the woodlouse spider walking away from the remains of the mouse spider I dropped in. And they WERE remains. It annihilated it! Click on any photo for a larger view.