BAS

The British Arachnological Society (BAS) is the UK’s only body devoted exclusively to the study of arachnids (spiders, harvestmen & pseudoscorpions).

[BAS @BritishSpiders]

Apologies to all users of our new online Atlas for the current intermittent access issues. Our hosts at CEH are working hard to resolve them.

[Chalkhill Blue @ChalkhillBlue1]

Took me a while to work out what was happening here - this was 30 Oct in North Kent. Looks like a Segestria has attempted to shed its skin, failed, and died in the process. It's a bit early for these spiders to be pegging out; some in our road survive all winter.

[Andrew C Sims @andysims4049]

Leggy or what! @LincsWildlife @BritishSpiders

[BAS @BritishSpiders]

@andysims4049 @LincsWildlife It is a harvestman of the genus Dicranopalpus

[Friends of Wildern Local Nature Reserve @WildernFriends]

Great Mike Rhodes shot of a Nursery Spider at Wildern LNR on 30/10 @GreenHampshire @LGSpace @bigmeadowsearch @BritishSpiders

[Ivysuckle💚(the garden reef)🍃 @ivysuckle]

...reaching adulthood in autumn. Compare with grey-brown native species A. accentuata (female tapped from privet hedge ten days later) which overwinters immature. I'm sure numida will be elsewhere found in Worcs, though this beautiful introduction is easily overlooked. 3/3
🕷️💚🍃

[Ivysuckle💚(the garden reef)🍃 @ivysuckle]

Minutes later I found a female - both were using crisped vine leaves for daytime retreats. Secretive & nocturnal, this is one of the buzzing spiders, named for the male courtship behaviour of vibrating his body against a leaf. A. numida is sandy-coloured & subtly patterned, 2/3

[Ivysuckle💚(the garden reef)🍃 @ivysuckle]

In late September I recorded a new spider species for the garden: Anyphaena numida, a native of the Mediterranean, first recorded in the UK in London in 2017. The male is sac spider-like but slenderer & very leggy, I tapped him from an outdoor non-fruiting grapevine... 1/3

[John Boorman @J_M_Boorman]

Garden wildlife. I unintentionally disturbed this Harvestman (Odiellus spinosus) from my garage door this morning. #londonwildlife

[Ivysuckle💚(the garden reef)🍃 @ivysuckle]

Immature Black Lace-weaver (Amaurobius ferox) catching a beautiful blue light 🕷️💚🍃

[BAS @BritishSpiders]

Who couldn't love an Odiellus spinosus? The bigger the better. It is a good time of the year to see this common species which can be found in all sorts of habitats. As well as its size, ID pointers include the shortish legs (for a harvestman), truncated saddle and sturdy trident.

[Ivysuckle💚(the garden reef)🍃 @ivysuckle]

Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus) 🕷️🧡🍃

[Ruth Newby @ruth_newby]

I haven’t seen many Nigma walckenaeri this autumn, so it was particularly pleasing to find this one on a rose leaf in the garden today. #spiders @ivysuckle @BritishSpiders

[Andrew Middleton @sesame86]

Myself, Eugene & Chris were looking at a late Turtle Dove in sun by the KGV Reservoir Chingford/Enfield when we got covered in these ant-like spiders Trachyzelotes pedestris? Each post had several on, & there are 1000s of posts. Track is limestone chips @BritishSpiders #spiders

[BAS @BritishSpiders]

@CGartell That's a false wolf spider, Zoropsis spinimana. It is now resident in the UK, mostly in or close to London, but it is not a native species. So, it probably isn't a hitchhiker you brought back off holiday.

[Craig'y Gartell 〽️ @CGartell]

@BritishSpiders hi, I’ve just got back from Cape Verde and found this hitchhiker after unpacking. Any idea what it is? AI thinks it might be a fishing or nursery web spider, but we’d love an expert opinion. And what to do with it. Photos attached.

[monday_spider @MondaySpider]

I stopped for a coffee in Torino, Italy, and noticed this pretty arachnid lady in the corner. She kindly agreed to visit my travel studio. Meet Holocnemus pluchei from family #pholcidae of daddy long-leg spiders. #spidermacro

[John Boorman @J_M_Boorman]

Garden wildlife. 3 different Zoropsis spinimanas found yesterday/last night. The 1st was rescued from a neighbour's waste bin. The 2nd was on one of my bins near the front door (outside) and was relocated onto the shed. Finally, the 3rd was inside the shed window. #londonwildlife

[BAS @BritishSpiders]

@DiddyDanDi That DOES look like the egg sac of a Wasp Spider! The image you posted may also be the same but we couldn’t be sure from your photo. However, your spider is definitely a Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)

[Diddy Dan Di @DiddyDanDi]

@BritishSpiders

A wasp spider’s nest found on a reserve in Northants today. This spider was being very attentive to it, as if it was guarding it. I think it’s a male. Is this unusual behaviour, as surely he would most likely have been eaten by the female after mating?