britishspiders.bsky.social
The British Arachnological Society (BAS) is the UK’s only body devoted exclusively to the study of arachnids (spiders, harvestmen & pseudoscorpions). See - https://britishspiders.org.uk
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It's a sub adult male unfortunately, and I wouldn't attempt to ID the majority of these without an adult under a microscope. They are really difficult
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Lisa, it could be Xysticus audax but I don’t think we can rule out X. cristatus or other similar species based on this photo.
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Indeed - though these things do happen!
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Always a brilliant thing to spot!
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Yes, distinctive in holding their egg sacs at the end of the abdomen like this, held firmly in the spinnerets. When the spiderlings emerge, the mum will carry them round on her back for a few days.
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Yep, it's enjoying them that matters most ... but have to add that this one's another Running crab species!
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This one's a the Running crab spider (Philodromidae) - still quite crabby but with a turn of speed! Most of the species can't easily be distinguished from photos.
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Please do record the numbers when you add to iRecord at irecord.org.uk/enter-srs-re..., Jess. We don't get enough of them!
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Interesting to see how stripey the legs look in the immature, John. Do keep counting!
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...Steatoda bites are a common theme for discussion on our social media. Our responses are based on both the latest toxicological research (including the highly respected work of the Dugan Lab) and our data on the species' changing distribution and abundance.
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...and significant infections arising from them are rarer still. While we can't cover details of infection mechanisms within the condensed factsheet format, we obviously advise on the need to seek medical attention for any infected bites or wounds ....
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1/2 Our factsheet deals widely with the identification, status and biology common British Steatoda species, including seeking to put the (very low) likelihood of S, nobilis bites, and their potential severity, into a balanced context. This is a very common species, bites are rare ...