As I’m starting to record Arachnids, might as well start close to home. An Eratigena so. possibly duellica (Giant House Spider) & a Pseudeuophrys, possibly lanigera (House Jumping Spider). #kentnature @britishspiders.bsky.social

When curiosity overtakes self preservation...if you think it looks good, check it! Glad i did - the first time I've seen Haplodrassus dalmatensis and the first Cornish record in 20+ years. Yet another addition to the ridiculous assemblage on the West Lizard cliffs! @britishspiders.bsky.social

The beautifully camouflaged Sand Running Spider Rhysodromus fallax, 3 found at Braunton Burrows, North Devon today thanks @tylanberry.bsky.social

A damp evening out looking for Blue Ground Beetles Carabus intricatus in the Dart Valley, saw 10 beetles, a Nightjar hawking low over trees at dusk and the highlight this Lichen Running Spider Philodromus margaritatus. Dartmoor, Devon

First up in a new #EccentricErigoninae series, where some of the weirdest Erigonine headgear is on display - Diplocephalus permixtus, a tiny (and supposedly common) spider I finally found for the first time yesterday. @britishspiders.bsky.social

Unbelievable!! This amazing Lotus subbiflorus carpet at Land's End has just thrown up Micaria albovittata...over 100km away from the nearest population on the other side of Cornwall! How on earth have I not seen this in between yet? Moreover, why is it not on the Lizard!? @britishspiders.bsky.social

Two specialist ant hunting spiders Anagena phalerata and the rare Moon Spider Callilepis nocturna around Prawle, Devon this week

One day I'll get a photo of Lasaeola prona that I'm happy with. After 15 minutes chasing this big 3mm female around with my camera, I've conceded that today will not be that day! They're such tricky things. @britishspiders.bsky.social @cofnod.org.uk @graemelyons.bsky.social @chalkspring.bsky.social

Got me looking now. Mating pair from a few years ago.

Ynys Wyllt visit yesterday produced some cracking spiders Arctosa leopardus and a Trochosa female which might be spinipalpis, but will probably just be terricola after 🔬. Only 1 previous spider record for site. @britishspiders.bsky.social @tylanberry.bsky.social @graemelyons.bsky.social

Really pleased to finally be able to pick this little beasty out of the hoards of Oedothorax at some excellent early meadows over Easter this year. Porrhomma microphthalmum - not a spider I see often at all, and one that doesn't really look like a Porrhomma! @britishspiders.bsky.social

Having had no luck with this fantastic ant-hunting genus before, including immatures and just-not-good-enough palp shots, I'm glad to have seen 3 of the 4 UK Zodarion in under a month. From left - Z. italicum, Z. fuscum, Z. rubidum. @britishspiders.bsky.social

Found a Drassodes lapidosus recently eating a suspiciously spider looking prey item. It had handily done all the dissection necessary for identification of said prey too-Zelotes latreillei! No mean feat to catch Zelotes, but Drassodes are supreme spider hunters. @britishspiders.bsky.social

@britishspiders.bsky.social @cofnod.org.uk @tylanberry.bsky.social Philodromus buxi is slowly spreading outwards from London. This, an adult male, is the first time I've seen it in my Buckinghamshire garden

@tylanberry.bsky.social was wondering if you could ID this spider I spotted in my garden recently. Spiders not my thing, more into beetles but the unusual colouration caught my eye. Never seen one like it before. North East England , Sunderland

Spotted this adult female Ero aphana in Barry. A nationally scarce spider and appears to be the third record for VC41 Glamorgan. The other two I have managed to find were in Penarth. @britishspiders.bsky.social @sewbrec.org.uk @cofnod.org.uk @tylanberry.bsky.social

Any suggestions? Best photo I have with this 2mm liny'. Simply not clear enough for me to ID. Woodland habitat, reddish legs. Hopefully someone can recognise the mantis shape. If not will keep for it for when I have better scope. Ta @britishspiders.bsky.social @tylanberry.bsky.social @cofnod.org.uk

Keep an eye open now for Agalenatea redii, the Gorse Orb Weaver. Gorse is a good place to find it but it can also be found in other bushes, heather, grass, and on fences etc. Like many others in the family Araneidae, A. redii is variable in appearance, and has several strikingly different forms.

I have done this cliff at Kynance to death over the last year - other than the elusive Altella lucida, I thought I had it nailed...A bit of stone turning with @graemelyons.bsky.social this week turned up Ozyptila scabricula! An amazing addition to the Lizard spider list! @britishspiders.bsky.social

Two Oxon firsts from casual fencepost spidering - Walckenaeria vigilax from....a bus stop and 'what appears to be Typhochrestus simoni(!!) from a damp urban meadow. Really goes to show what an effective method it can be to meet otherwise elusive linys... @britishspiders.bsky.social

A new spider for me (assuming I'm identifying it correctly). Cryptachaea blattea (Theridiidae). Back of our house in Topsham, Devon. I've iRecorded it. @britishspiders.bsky.social @tylanberry.bsky.social

A particularly spikey Palliduphantes ericaeus from under a stone recently - unusually long and prominent leg spines. Not going to lie, I did wonder if it was something a bit more horrid...of the Nothophantes variety at first! @britishspiders.bsky.social @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social

@britishspiders.bsky.social @tylanberry.bsky.social @chalkspring.bsky.social Always nice to find a Walck! This female W. vigilax was the very last spider I picked up during a recent excursion; I’ve found it before but this one allowed me to photograph it properly for a change!

Master of camouflage the amazing Lichen Running Spider Philodromus margaritatus Buckfastleigh, Devon 2 found yesterday thanks @2turrell.bsky.social

A few other specialties from a slightly brighter Lizard cliffs - always nice to be in the company of a large flock of Chough. Gnaphosa occidentalis, Porrhoclubiona genevensis and Lathys stigmatisa @britishspiders.bsky.social

Even in the pouring mizzle, there's plenty of adult male Euophrys herbigrada to be found on the west Lizard cliffs at this time of year. @britishspiders.bsky.social @graemelyons.bsky.social @cofnod.org.uk @chalkspring.bsky.social

Not particularly scarce, but seemingly very localised. A very difficult spider to target.

Spending a bit of time checking the external brickwork whilst at a party....as one does! First time I've seen Sardinidion blackwalli in a few years, still only know it from two gardens in St Austell down here. Must be elsewhere in Cornwall! @britishspiders.bsky.social

A spider that I rarely find, probably once every two years - Hilaira excisa. This was in the company of the very similar looking Drepanotylus uncatus in the mires of Bodmin Moor. Forgot to take a habitat picture so the high moor in the pouring rain will have to suffice! @britishspiders.bsky.social

I bought some of the transparent card protector sleeves @tylanberry.bsky.social suggested for harmlessly restraining insects for photography. They work! #Arachnids #Spiders #entomology #Insects #macrophotography #macro

Took a spider from the cemetery home to ID. Turned out to be a Liny which I don't normally look at (too small). Surprised that it was straightforward to key out: female Gonatium rubellum. I put the live spider in a 'floating frame' to keep it still under the microscope and released her afterwards.

The frames are very useful

How to make a perfect 360° ant snare whilst ensuring your dangerous prey can't get anywhere near you as you rest. Handily in a sheltered nook too, away from the last 45+ days of Cornish rain! Cryptachaea blattea are amazing - the ingenuity of Theridiids knows no bounds! @britishspiders.bsky.social

Absolutely critical stuff

Finally! Drepanotylus uncatus from the mires at CWT Red Moor. This fills in the gap between Goss and Bodmin Moor nicely. I only ever see this species in the very wettest mires, normally in floating Sphagnum. It can be incredibly abundant in the right places in winter. @britishspiders.bsky.social

A very shaky phone video of what I think is Nigma walckenaeri on ivy yesterday in my local churchyard. #Arachnids #spiders #luckyme

Another interesting Liny from the dying light of Halvana Plantation of a late afternoon last week. A second Cornish site for Maro minutus. This little 1mm thing is weirdly distinctive in the tray...aided very much by a head torch!! @britishspiders.bsky.social @cofnod.org.uk @graemelyons.bsky.social

At the end of last year i collected a spider i was hoping to raise that all changed when this parasitic fungi took hold of it i suspect gibellula sp. Quite fasinating really. @britishspiders.bsky.social #gibellula #spider

Small, pale and interesting - Asthenargus paganus a denizen of the Spruce plantation moss floor. Couple more 🎄Welsh records to add to the UK distribution map. @britishspiders.bsky.social @tylanberry.bsky.social @graemelyons.bsky.social @chalkspring.bsky.social

A lovely photo of a sub-adult male Bridge Orbweb Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius)

Happy new year to all you fellow spiderers! Didn't think I'd be seeing out 2025 with Porrhomma montanum from the deep, cold, darkness of a Bodmin Moor conifer plantation! What is this doing in Cornwall!?! @britishspiders.bsky.social @graemelyons.bsky.social @cofnod.org.uk @chalkspring.bsky.social

🧵A very happy New Year to all our followers and a gentle reminder that it's never too late to resolve to submit your #arachnid records to the GB #Spider, #Harvestman and #Pseudoscorpion Recording Schemes via our #iRecord form: irecord.org.uk/enter-srs-re.... #NewYearsResolution #MakeYourRecordsCount

I know I'm biased, but how can you beat Aulonia!?

Any suggestions for this @britishspiders.bsky.social please? From a kitchen cupboard, c. 5mm body length. The epigyne seems oddly protruded. Looks a bit like some of the larger linyphiids but not sure. Sorry for poor photos!

Pales in comparison to @chalkspring.bsky.social's, but here's my Spider Top 10 for 2025! I've stuck to lifers and gone for rewarding over rare. One genus will show up thrice, and I will not apologise! @britishspiders.bsky.social @tylanberry.bsky.social @graemelyons.bsky.social

@britishspiders.bsky.social @cofnod.org.uk @graemelyons.bsky.social @tylanberry.bsky.social @snake-spider-et-al.bsky.social Some of my favourite UK finds of 2025. Happy New Year #spiders

One that i dont pick up that often, a Nationally Scarce species. Picked up in West Sussex. Monocephalus castaneipes @britishspiders.bsky.social

Lichen Running Spider at #RSPBArne today #Spiders @britishspiders.bsky.social

Centromerus serratus picked up this week, I havent seen any since Feb this year. So now its one female and one male this year from a West Sussex site. @britishspiders.bsky.social

The seven year old in me still gets excited when I go to Bristol, whatever the nature of the visit. There's always time to stop to play with Segestria florentina! @britishspiders.bsky.social