Adur Spiders & Harvestmen

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28 September 2011

Large fully grown Garden Orb Spiders, Araneus diadematus, were seen weaving its web amongst the Blackberries, notably on the edge of the Waterworks Road. The webs had to be removed to get at the ripe berries.

 

11 September 2011

The first of the large fully grown Garden Orb Spiders, Araneus diadematus, was seen weaving its web amongst the Blackberries on the edge of the Steyning Road, north of Old Shoreham.

 

19 June 2011 A small white crab spider Misumena vatia was waiting in ambush on a purple Pyramidal Orchid on the central overgrown part of the Slonk Hill Cutting (southern path)  where the Brambles were less.

17 April 2011 A small white crab spider Misumena vatia on Green Alkanet had ambushed and killed a Carder Bee twice its size.

20 March 2011 A small hunting spider of the genus Pardosa (probably) was seen on a plastic cap on Mill Hill Cutting (south, amongst Ivy leaves next to the Pixie Path).

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4 October 2010

The large webs of the Garden Orb Spider, Araneus diadematus, were prevalent in the morning.

 

7 September 2010

 

 

The yellow Orb Spider, Araneus quadratus, spun its deadly web on the Buckingham Cutting meadows (where it is known to catch grasshoppers).

 

12 August 2010
The first Garden Orb Spider, Araneus diadematus, of the year seen spinning its web amongst the berried Brambles on the Coastal-Downs Link Cyclepath, Old Shoreham. 

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25 October 2009
A spider Metellina segmentata, (=Meta), a common species had spun a web on a still flowering umbellifer on the verge of the Coastal-Downs Link Cyclepath south of the Toll Bridge, Old Shoreham.  The umbellifer was the Common Hogweed, Heracleum sphondylium.

6 September 2009
The Garden Orb Spiders, Araneus diadematus, were beginning to cast their webs.

16 August 2009
By the Steyning Road in Old Shoreham (near the start of the footpath to the Waterworks Road and Mill Hill before the Field Maple tunnel) I spotted my first Wasp Spider, Argiope bruennichi, of 2009. It had spun a web over the Brambles and other vegetation.
 

10 May 2009 An ambush predatory spider on a Bulbous Buttercup. Location: Coastal Link Cyclepath, south of the Toll Bridge, Old Shoreham.  This is a Philodromus species, probably cespitum, but it is almost certainly still juvenile and in any case impossible to ID to species without adult under a microscope. ID by Peter Harvey on the British Spiders Yahoo Group

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16 January 2008
My first spider and my first moving arthropod of 2008 was a small black web-spinner in the rear smoking part of the Ship Inn, Southwick, and this was possibly Zygiella x-notata.
 

26 August 2007 A small Araneus spider moulted (ecdysis) on my bicycle bell, so the spider could have come from my front garden or picked up anywhere. It was probably picked up from the southern part of the Slonk Hill Cutting.

21 June 2007
 

The white blob is thought to be the egg mass of the Nursery-web Spider, Pisaura mirabilis, spotted resting on the upper parts of Gypsywort in my Shoreham front garden, before it was disturbed and then it disappeared in the dense vegetation before it emerged again so that I could briefly take the photographs shown above. This species is widespread and abundant locally.
The even more abundant Garden Orb Spider, Araneus diadematus, had already constructed a web near the Rosemary in the same garden.
 

2 June 2007 Two small terrestrial arachnids gatecrashed Adur World Oceans Day 2007 on Coronation Green. One was a Zebra Spider, Salticus scenicus and the other one (illustrated on the right) and identified not as a spider but a tick.

13 April 2007 A common species of small crab spider known as the Zebra Spider, Salticus scenicus was seen on the green roadside box on the southern side of the Slonk Hill Cutting. I did not know at the time that it had caught its supper. Click on the image for a bigger picture. Link to more information & images (by Colin Duke)

2 April 2007 This small spider was on Alexanders on the Slonk Hill Cutting path south.

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26 September 2006
A harvestman crawled over the the leaves of Horseshoe Vetch on the lower slopes of Mill Hill in the early afternoon.
This is probably the species Phalangium opilio.

Harvestman ID suggestion by by Peter Harvey on the British Spiders (Yahoo Group)

In gardens and wasteland the common spider was the Garden Orb Spider, Araneus diadematus. (I have not yet recorded one on Mill Hill. It is hard to think they would be absent though.)

20 August 2006
On the Mill Hill Cutting south side at the top of Chanctonbury Drive (SE of the bridge over the A27) a large Wasp Spider had weaved its web between the tall herbs. This seemed more designed to capture flies or butterflies rather than its usual observed diet of grasshoppers.
Image

17 August 2006

 

A Wasp Spider had captured a grasshopper on the southern meadow bank and rolled it up with its silken web ready for consumption. A probable Araneus quadratus was also spotted.

 

6 August 2006

 

 

Over the stream on the northern edge of the Saltings Field (near Botolphs), damselflies and dragonflies mated as a female Wasp Spider, Argiope bruennichi, had spun a web over the waterside vegetation.

 

 

26 July 2006

A spider of the species Neoscona adianta crawled amongst the vegetation, including Eyebright, on the Buckingham Bank.

 

26 July 2006 The size of this funnel web on the verge of the Waterworks Road, Old Shoreham, was at least 16 cm tall and 22 cm wide. I have my suspicions that the spider Agelena  labyrinthica made this web.   Web Spinner identity confirmed by Peter Harvey on the British Spiders (Yahoo Group) Previous Image of Spider

23-24 July 2006 A Garden Orb Spider, Araneus diadematus, in my front garden in Corbyn Crescent was big enough to capture butterflies. They are also this size amongst the long grass of Slonk Hill.  It is a the latter location spider prevalent location that the long-legged (harvestman?) species photographed on the right was discovered. There were a handful seen and probably many more.

26 June 2006 Slonk Hill south

23 June 2006 This small web spinner was spotted on Kidney Vetch on the Buckingham Cutting. There were Small Blue Butterflies on the same group of flowers and scores of Pyramidal Orchids. I have identified this spider as Atea sturmi. This was wrong again! It is Neoscona adianta. Neosona adianta can be common in heathland and more or less unmanaged grasslands in the south and south east, whereas Atea (now also Araneus) sturmi is widespread, usually on evergreen shrubs in old woodland, but in my experience rarely found in any numbers. ID and comments by Peter Harvey on  the British Spiders (Yahoo Group)

1 June 2006 I spotted a small spider on the strandline amongst the pebbles on Southwick beach which seemed to have a light blue abdomen (but not when photographed), and it was probably a Pardosa hunting spider, on pebbles that would be washed with the sea in winter.

This is certainly Pardosa sp. It could be P. purbeckensis, which is typically found in saltmarsh and other saline situations. Roberts does not recognise this as separate from P. agrestis, but the British checklist does. Another possibility is P. agricola a species typically found on shingle, but which in my experience is much less common than books suggest - but can be abundant where it occurs. However this group of Pardosa are a nightmare to identify, even with adults under a microscope, and quite impossible from photos. Also other Pardosa spp. can crop up in these habitats.

Information and Comment by Peter Harvey on the British Spiders (Yahoo Group)

25 May 2006 This very small spider hid amongst the petals of the fading Marsh Marigolds in my garden pond.
	Marsh Marigold

14 May 2006 A small shiny black spider under the discarded chestnut fencing was possibly one of several species. It remained still and did not scamper off like many of the mobile species of arthropods. It looked like it was about to make a run for it though and I had to be quick with my camera. The size from the head to rear of the abdomen was roughly estimated at 7 mm. This could be a gravid Zelotes species (often found under stones, but also run on the ground, very fast!) - but can't tell from the picture. A good example of the limitations of spider id from pictures. Suggestion by Peter Harvey on the British Spiders (Yahoo Group)

ID notes re above:

If in garden outhouse, then could be Steatoda, but in that case more like Steatoda grossa, which as adult female often has no evident abdominal pattern - but id would need adult specimen under microscope. Steatoda bipunctata has white line around front of abdomen and usually down middle, although variable. Whole abdomen usually has a slightly lighter coloration.

The colour illustrations in the guides by Michael J Roberts are made from pickled specimens and are not necessarily correct to colour for living spiders.

Notes by Peter Harvey on the British Spiders (Yahoo Group)

7 May 2006 I just spotted a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye in a north Shoreham garden. I think I captured a shell (=exoskeleton) changing (ecdysis) moment. I think this is probably a female Pardosa amentata (your other picture being the male), but it is difficult to be sure.   ID by Peter Harvey on the British Spiders (Yahoo Group)

30 April 2006 The spider in the picture is well camouflaged on Spotted Deadnettle, Lamium maculatum, in a north Shoreham garden.  My first tentative identification is that it is one of the wolf hunting spiders of the genus Pardosa, which are commonly found in gardens.  Certainly lycosid and Pardosa, almost certainly Pardosa amentata. Unfortunately you cannot reliably identify Pardosa in the field (except possibly Pardosa nigriceps) or from pictures, and Pardosa should not be recorded except by microscopical examination of adult epigyne/palp. In my garden your pictures could be Pardosa hortensis, but this is very unusual for a garden!! Only the early Pardosa species are now adult, most will be a few weeks later, especially this year.    ID and comments by Peter Harvey on the British Spiders (Yahoo Group)

26 April 2006 The spider on the right was recorded from amongst vegetation on the path through the scrub in the north-west corner of Mill Hill. It behaved like a Nursery Web Spider, Pisaura mirabilis,  but looked slightly different. It is probably a young specimen.

21 April 2006
Nursery Web Spiders, Pisaura mirabilis were noted on the Dovecote Bank. This common species is hardly worth a note. They are usually observed more often later in the year.
 
 

7 April 2006 There were two small brown and white crab spiders on the green roadside box on the southern side of the Slonk Hill Cutting. This spider would fit under a 5 pence coin. I have identified them as a common species known as the Zebra Spider, Salticus scenicus.

28 March 2006
There were small brown crab spiders seen amongst the moss and loose gravel on the Mill Hill Cutting (south-west). They were too small and evasive to photograph and I did not collect any of the handful actually seen.
The small spider photographed on the right was under the piece of discarded chestnut fencing on the on the Pixie Path, is a species in the genus Trochosa.
It is a Trochosa (carapace marking divided into three towards front and brown coloration). It looks like a subadult (overall appearance and legs don't quite look like an adult) Trochosa terricola, but Trochosa (four British species) cannot really be determined reliably from pictures or in the field.

1 January 2006
Two spiders were found inside my south Lancing house, the first in the bath a Biting Spider, Steatoda nobilis, and the second,  probably a juvenile Philodromus dispar crawled up the lounge wall.

Lancing Spiders Gallery (by Ray Hamblett)

17 October 2005 The miniature spider in the pictures on the right emerged from the small white capsule underneath the broken chestnut fence paling on the Pixie Path to Mill Hill. It did not return to where it came from. The poor quality images were because of its small size, under 10 mm (estimated) in total length.  This is a species of Clubiona. The white capsule is a silken home spun by the spider. Clubionidae Checklist Genus confirmed by Peter Harvey on British Spiders (Yahoo Group)

16 October 2005
A male Biting Spider, Steatoda nobilis, was discovered inside my south Lancing house.

7 October 2005 Under the discarded chesnut paling fencing on the Pixie Path route to Mill Hill, there the small spider illustrated on the right. It looks like it has lost a leg. The species is a juvenile Alopecosa species, almost certainly Alopecosa pulverulenta. This species is common and widespread on heaths, grass and cultivated land.    ID by Peter Harvey on the British Spiders (Yahoo Group)

2 October 2005
 

As usual in October, the webs of the Garden Orb Spider, Araneus diadematus, were draped on wasteland and in gardens to trap the unwary flying insects. With abundant Crane-flies it was not surprising that they became ensnared and wrapped up ready for eating as shown in the photograph above on the far right.

25 September 2005
The spider Zygiella x-notata, the 'missing segment' spider, is again seen on the outside of a window frame of a house in The Drive, Shoreham.

13 September 2005
The important mesh part of the web of a Garden Orb Spider, Araneus diadematus, was measured at 33 cm in diameter between Stinging Nettles on the Waterworks Road.

28 August 2005
The yellow Orb Spider, Araneus quadratus, was spinning its deadly web. Prey included grasshoppers and moths.
 

Yellow Orb Spider from Slonk Hill.	It had netted a grasshopper.	And was feeding on it.	Prey item.

The colours of this spider vary, not only yellow, but brick orange, brown and greenish specimens are seen.
 

Araneus diadematus	Araneus quadratus

Notes:
I think it is Araneus quadratus rather than Araneus diadematus (four spots on abdomen, spider of tall grassland habitats, but Araneus marmoreus var. marmoreus is similar, but much less likely - usually an open woodland species and much more restricted in distribution).

27 August 2005
Three female Wasp Spiders were seen in the Chalk Pit area to the east of Lancing Ring. They were all within about 200 square metres in the Tor Grass which predominates in the open grassland.

21 August 2005
On the Slonk Hill Cutting (south), a large (for the species at this time of the year) Garden Orb Spider, Araneus diadematus, caught a bee or hoverfly almost its own size in its web. Most of these spiders were still small, spinning their webs on wasteland and between shrubs in gardens. They will soon grow after feeding on a diet of flying insects. The cross marking on the back of this spider is diagnostic with a species variable in size and colouring and seen commonly in autumn.
 

18 August 2005
 

The first Wasp Spider seen this year was a smallish female that had captured a Meadow Grasshopper on the Slonk Hill Cutting and had rolled it up in its webbing. It had been recognised before that a major part of its prey was grasshoppers.
Adur Grasshoppers
 

8 July 2005 A small crab spider on Wild Carrot on the Pixie Path is a female  Misumena vatia

5 June 2005 There was a small web spinning spider on the road side of the Privet hedge in my front garden in Corbyn Crescent, Shoreham. I assume this is a small and therefore a young Araneus diadematus.

22 May 2005
 

This small spider had woven a net amongst the  Salad Burnet (foreign provenance) Agalenatea redii Identification by Martin Askins on British Spiders (Yahoo Group) This is a common and widespread species Location: Slonk Hill Cutting North	There was no sign of a web with this small species Pardosa (probably) Identification by Martin Askins on British Spiders (Yahoo Group) There are at least nine British species of Pardosa Location: Shoreham Garden

29 December 2004 The house spider on the right is the strongly synanthropic web spinner  Noble False Widow Spider (or Dark Comb Footed Spider), Steatoda nobilis, from a sink in a house in West Way, Lancing. It is an immigrant species associated with man. This spider was originally incorrectly identified as Steatoda bipunctata.   ID and comments by Peter Harvey on the British Spiders (Yahoo Group) This species has a venomous bite which can cause human injury. It is most venomous spider found in Britain.  Steatoda Portfolio (by Peter Harvey)

Body of the Spider
24 December 2004
The spider from the window looks like Zygiella x-notata, with the dark central patch on the carapace. It should have incomplete spirals round the web, the 'missing segment' spider. It is very common on webs across window frames, and does continue on into the new year, though most common in autumn.

PS: A snag has occurred with the identification. On 29 December 2004, the web was examined closely and found to be symmetrical without a missing segment. The identification does seem to match at least one other photograph though. The explanation may be that the missing segment does not always occur?
PS: In January 2005, the Zygiella x-notata spider was confirmed when the web was rebuilt with the missing segment.
Garden Birdwatch in Shoreham (Database)
Lancing Spiders (by Ray Hamblett)

28 October 2004
Lower slopes of Mill Hill

The small spider on the right was in the centre of  a web amongst the Devil's Bit Scabious. The web looked similar to the one made by the Garden Orb Spider, Araneus diadematus, but this spider was smaller and its markings appeared different.
The spider is a female Metellina sp., a long-jawed spider.  At this time of year it is probably Metellina segmentata, (=Meta), a common species.

27 September 2004 Mill Hill On the bare patches created by conservation clearing, mostly of Dogwood above the ridge, the following large plants with an accompanying spider took root. The spider looks like the Nursery Web Spider, Pisaura mirabilis. The silvery grey leaves are of the Great Mullein, Verbascum thapsus. This spider is common everywhere and abundant in many places especially seen in spring (May). Mating Notes

21 September 2004
 

The illustration on the left above is probably the same spider that ate the butterfly below. It is spinning a web in the same place. There are webs and spiders al over the garden and it the underside of a different spider of the same species on the right.
Male and Female
Spiders Information Page
Spiders of NW Europe

17 September 2004
The female Garden Orb Spiders, Araneus diadematus, are spinning their deadly webs in gardens and wasteland around Shoreham. In the back garden of 40 The Drive (near Buckingham Park), (TQ  219 063), the spider captured the Small White Butterfly which was wrapped up and moved up the web into shelter to be eaten in a few minutes, estimated to be between five and ten minutes.
 
 

24 August 2004 The spider on the lily pad it looks like Pardosa amentata, a very common wolf spider of gardens and damp laces. It can run over the surface of water like the Pirata species.   ID by Jennifer Newton on British Spiders (Yahoo Group)

15 August 2004
Butterfly Walk on Lancing Ring
 

Not the male Wasp Spider but Neoscona adianta (corrected by Geoff Oxford, University of York) This is an uncommon species restricted to southern coastal districts	Wasp Spider, Argiope bruennichi

A few female Wasp Spiders, Argiope bruennichi, with the female in the centre of the web were seen in an area where they had not been seen before. A formerly scarce immigrant species is now frequently seen, mostly in southern England.
Male and Female Wasp Spiders (Link to Images)
Adur Wasp Spiders

6 July 2004
 

This spider constructed a funnel-shaped web. There was no identifiable prey to be seen. This species is Agelena labyrinthica which is a common species. Location: Slonk Hill Cutting South.

Body of the Spider
The two like feelers (where a claw would be, superficially, on a crab) are called palps."
Checklist of UK Recorded Agelenidae

Glossary: synanthropic.

Important Web Sites

Spiders of Wiltshire

Spiders of NW Europe
"A study in Great Britain estimated an average of 130.8 spiders per square metre living in a meadow."

British Arachnological Society

Checklist of British Spiders

Anatomy of Spiders

Spider and Harvestman Recording Scheme

Sussex Spiders on flickr

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Adur Bees, Wasps & Sawflies
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