The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: Garvie on October 21, 2013, 12:19:26 pm
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found this in my bin does anyone know what it is? will try and get a better photo
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It's not the best photo! If it's basically black with a red abdomen with black spots on the red then it's a ladybird spider and it's stupendously rare!
Could also be a pirate spider, not as rare, mind there are 648 species of British spiders so it could VE something else
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(https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1381560_10202137109006060_152634063_n.jpg)thats the underside
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It's very probably a 'meta menardi ' your in Scotland arn't you?, I'll see if I've got any info on it..
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M. menardi is widely but patchily distributed in Britain and apparently absent from large areas. This spider is exclusively European (Platnick 1998) and is widespread in western and central Europe.
Habitat and ecology
This species lives exclusively in permanently dark, damp habitats such as caves (including sea caves), mines, sewers, ice-houses, damp cellars, limestone pavement, hollow trees and railway tunnels. Very occasionally it may be discovered beneath convex artefacts in fields (Felton 1995). Dry habitats are not occupied by this species. M. menardi produces a large orb web, but usually resides on the wall of its habitat. Prey items include hibernating Lepidoptera, mosquitoes, slugs, isopods, millipedes and beetles (Smithers 1996; Cropper 1997). Both sexes are mature throughout the year (Howes 1999). Large, white, tear-shaped egg-sacs are suspended from the roof of the spider's habitat between September and February, these persist for a long period even after spiderling emergence. Hatched spiderlings have been noted within egg-sacs in January.
http://srs.britishspiders.org.uk/portal.php/p/Summary/s/Meta+menardi (http://srs.britishspiders.org.uk/portal.php/p/Summary/s/Meta+menardi)
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this is slightly beter pic
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we we are north east, pointy bit above aberdeen :)
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that doesnt sound like the right one, i found it on the lid of my wheelie bin
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I'd definitely put money on the m.menardi, they're around in NE Scotland, I'll have another look in my encyclopaedia of British spiders though, see if I can find anything else....
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cheers just never seen one like it and with the hype about false widows was interested if it was one
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It looks a bit like a rabbit hutch spider, which is a false widow type a quite common, my monies still on a European cave spider, m. Menardi, and that's a much better find IMO
The hype is actually complete b*****ks, the false widow spiders in the uk are venemous but only to the extent that it's like a bee or wasp sting, I think the only positive Id'd bites that have caused hospitalisation have been from allergies or other underlying health issues
Oh and remember, be nice, put her back where you found her when your finished :thumbsup:
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i will, although dont think the wheelie bin is the safest place for her will google for there habbitat and put it in a more suitable place