![]() When any potential prey strays into the web, the spider will rush out of the funnel at speed and attack the prey. The Tegenaria domestica creates a flat sheet web attached to a funnel at one end and is a nocturnal spider. Not sure what happened here, but it is the same Segestria Florentina that had aįight with a wandering Segestria Senoculata. This one was living just outside my front door until it suddenlyĭisappeared and instead I saw a Segestria Florentina lurking about which had just shed its skin, leaving it on the house spider web,īut then it retreated to its own nearby funnel. The smallest of the species where the female can have a body length up to 11mm. This is perhaps the most common house spider that most people will recognise and it is This selfless act is known as matriphagy or 'mother eating'. ![]() Spiderlings appear to stimulate the mother to produce a second batch of trophic eggs as food for her spiderlings.Īfter providing this meal for her offspring, the mother spider then presses against the spiderlings activelyĮncouraging them to kill and eat her. There has been much research into the behaviour of the mother spider. The adult male can be identified by the swollen pedipalps, which contain the copulatory organs ![]() Finally, the spider moves in for the kill.įemales can be found throughout the year, but males are usually seen in the spring or autumn. Any unsuspecting prey that is unfortunate to trespass onto the web soon becomes entangledĪs the woolly texture of the silk catches upon any hairs the more the prey struggles to free itself, the moreĮnmeshed it becomes. The silk has a blueish hue and the web can appear spread out and messy They make a cribellate web by combing the characteristic woolly silk they produce, using a row of stiff hairs These spiders inhabit holes in walls, crevices, under bark, rubbish and in cellars. It probably thought it had found a safe retreat under its own web. The specimen I photographed was discovered in my courtyard garden, under a large metal saucer shaped waterĬontainer during the day. Robust, black lace weaver spider with a vague pattern on the abdomen and large firm stocky legs. The Amaurobius ferox is a large (18mm body length for female shown males tend to be smaller 12mm), It has been reported as producing a nasty bite which was painful and red, but subsided after 6 hours. This spider was first sited around ports in southern England in about 1845 suggesting its entry to our shores was via boat from the continent. Guard them until they hatch and disperse but if she dies first then she will be their first meal. The female (length 15mm - 22mm but can be much larger) will lay her eggs inside the tube and It has six eyes and its jaws are an iridescent green (can be seen if you shine a torch down its web at night). Generally it feeds on small insects and beetles, but doesn't seem to like the taste of woodlice! Launching itself forward onto any suitable prey that should touch the web andĭragging it back into the tube to consume. Lines of silk which radiate from the edge of the web. The spider normally waits in it's tube web with six legs forward touching the There are several tube websĬreated in the exterior walls around my home. This Segestria Florentina (male shown approximately 15mm in length) spider was found out of its tube on the front door after dark, which is not surprising as they are nocturnal. Zygiella x-notata is a nocturnal animal, constructing it's web at night or in the early hours of the morning.ĭuring the day it sits in its retreat, but will grab any prey that becomes ensnared in their webĪnd drag it back to it's retreat for consumption. However, juveniles and sometimes young adults tend to create whole webs. The missing sectors contain the 'signalling'thread that the spider uses to detect prey snared in the web. Their web is similar to that of the Garden Spider, Araneus Diadematus,īut two sectors are always missing. It is the only orb web spider that continues to make web throughout the winter months. Including boats.This one was found under my window sill, at the front of the house. It's habitat is in the neighbourhood of houses and other similiar structures Judging by the rounded abdomen, I would say it is a female. This specimen has a body length of 5mm so has some growing to do. Zygiella x-notata females can grow up to 11mm in size and males up to 7mm. The cephalothorax is a yellow-brown, with a leaf-like mark on the opisthosoma. Zygiella x-notata is a common european spider.
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