Although
not to everyone's taste, we are surrounded by spiders of all shapes and sizes
and curiosity alone should drive some interest in this species group.We had our first taste of spider hunting and recognition at Oldhay on the 19th August with our spider expert ,Tony Sheridan. There was no shortage of spiders and the main task was to understand features that would allow us to go some way to identifying families and possible species. Of course there are other clues, such as the type of web produced by the spider and the habitat it is found in, how it cares for its young etc, to help us in this ID process. We have about 650 species in Britain, with over 350 recorded in Cornwall to date
Finding the spiders. Beating from vegetation into trays, sweeping soft vegetation with strong sweep nets, extraction from litter and turning over stones etc can yield as many spiders as you would want to find, but finding spider webs is the most useful approach for beginners - the web give some good clues and the spiders can be observed at rest.
Species for beginners to look for. (coming soon)
Identification.
Books: There are several field guides on Spiders. One readily available is
Spiders of Britain and Northern Europe (Collins Field Guide S.) (Hardcover) by M.J.Roberts
This is available, free delivery, from Amazon for £16.50, reduced from over £20