Not a 'T', pet spider though

[Colin D Wilson]

I love looking in my little tanks and finding surprises,

some little ones to release into the big wide world in a month or two.



strange time of year for her but hey!

Mirabilis is the only member of the genus pisaura in northern europe

What really makes me mad is i missed the mating ritual where the male catches (in this case) a little locust, wraps it up in web, and gives it to the female as a little courtship gift, whilst she's eating this he does his thing

Johanna,.... this is family Pisauridae, but Lycosas are just as fascinating....same as tarantulas....get one....get hooked

[Dave Gunter]

That looks very similar to the spider i had running round in the bug room last night - about .75" ?

[Johanna Turner]

I love looking in my little tanks and finding surprises,

some little ones to release into the big wide world in a month or two.

[ATTACH]343[/ATTACH]

strange time of year for her but hey!

Mirabilis is the only member of the genus pisaura in northern europe

What really makes me mad is i missed the mating ritual where the male catches (in this case) a little locust, wraps it up in web, and gives it to the female as a little courtship gift, whilst she's eating this he does his thing

Johanna,.... this is family Pisauridae, but Lycosas are just as fascinating....same as tarantulas....get one....get hooked

So is this a native?
I spent hours on the weekend getting pictures of some spiders living in the hedge at my parents house. (Much to my parents amusement - reminded them of when I used to spend hours rockpooling!)
Got some good pics but haven't had a chance to upload them yet.

And that's a mad courtship ritual. Bizarre to see what lengths some animals go to to woo a female. Pity some humans don't make such an effort! lmao!

[Colin D Wilson]

Dave, yep, the size is about right for one of these, but there are a few Lucosidae in their light colour phase that can look very similar

Johanna, it's native alright, quite widespread too in europe, more common in the south of england than the midlands and north unfortunatly.
The courtship ritual lasts about an hour, fascinating !!

[Johanna Turner]

It might be the ones I photographed then. Will try and post some when I get home tonight.

[Mark Pennell]

I have found these in the Bristol area, plus a few imports (docks etc.)
We have a lots a segestria as well....

I will post a pic later.

Cheers
M

[Colin D Wilson]

The S Florentina is a lovely spider, Shame there's not so many up here, bit too far north (even though i'm in the midlands)

Imports eh? and what might they be?

might have to incorporate a trip combining visiting the zoo, photographing the docks and collecting the local fauna.

Look forward to the piccie.

[Johanna Turner]

Here's some..

Here's the pics I took over the weekend.











Did find an amazing spider outside our building in work today, never seen one before! Was about 2cm legspan and walked like a crab, very little articulation in the legs.
Where do you guys recommend looking it up??

naturally I rescued it from squishing and my friends all gave me a ribbing! lol

[Colin D Wilson]

Nice photos, looks like a little male with those palps, although i've had females with unusually large palps before.

Did you notice any little hammock style webs with fine silk strands, if so that was the nursery tent that the egg sac is put into to hatch, (hence the common name nursery spider) when they hatch she stands guard for a couple of moults and then they wander off.

What was the colour, patterning etc of the spider at work?
you could try google for crab spider images, don't know if there'll be the right one on there but chances are good

[Dave Gunter]

I've just downloaded the pic i got of the one in the bug room the other nigh

[Johanna Turner]

I think it's fab to see what little corkers we have closer to home. Just because they are smaller than the ones we tend to collect we sometimes overlook them but i saw one example last weekend that was I believe a crab spider and it was a stunning emerald green and pink! Gorgeous!

[Colin D Wilson]

Looks like a member of the Pardosa genus (Lycosidae) with the markings on the carapace and abdomen, not sure which though...might have to get me little spidey book out on this one.


Jo the only emerald and pink crab spider i can think of is a Diaea Dorsata (green carapace and legs, dullish pinky abdomen), crab spiders are changeable in colour to suit their habitat so could be another species altogether so i am probably completely off track.

[Mark Pennell]

couple from the garden!

I also have some vid, I'll youtube and post it up - top crab spider action

Cheers
Mark

[Johanna Turner]

They're fab aren't they!

And living on our doorstep too!

Any ideas what the dark/black spiders are in the garden that like to bask in the sun?

They gather in vast numbers to rest on pieces of wood (And assorted rubbish that I have) on the lawn.

[Colin D Wilson]

Hi Jo, they could be your everyday garden wolf spider (lycosidae, Pardosa genus), species vary from area to area, i get a lot of P Pullata and P Agricola (who are more at home near river banks). Ive had some P nigriceps in the past (unusual again because they normally like tall grassy areas).