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British Spiders

Steatoda nobilis (The False Widow Spider):

this spider, which can be found in the south of England, was introduced into the UK from the Canary islands back in about 1879. It belongs to the same family as the notourious Black Widow spider of Australia and North America. It looks amazingly like a Black Widow and people in the UK regulaly confuse them, hence the common name. Steatoda nobilis is Britain's only dangerous spider although nowhere near as dangerous as its overseas cousin. A bite from this spider is likely to cause local swelling and pain. These spiders are now spreading up the UK and coming up more North of the country, due to longer summers and milder winters because of global warming. So hopefully, i'll get to see these in my garden somretime soon.


Salticus scenicus (The Zebra Spider):

This is a very common jumping spider and is found throughout the UK and around the world. It is seen from May to September and can be seen scuttling around on fences and walls on sunny days. It is so called because of its black and white stripes. I see these regulaly on my garden fence and i must admit i get proper excited. These spider do not make webs, but instead they stalk their prey and jump on it when they get within a close enough distance.

Hope you have enjoyed reading a bit about two of Britain's spiders. Althogether we have about 640 soecies!!

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Comments


  • Simply Olivia
    July 2, 2008

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    Interesting!

    I assumed that spiders made webs; didn't know about jumping ones.

    But this write doesn't seem to be poetry.

  • Raggedee-Ann
    May 9, 2008
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    How? Fascinating! I like the following "admit i get proper excited." because nature sure has a way of making me feel that way.

    Funny story, I just removed a "Black Widow" from our mailbox last week to set it free in the woods. Not sure how it got in there.

    Thanks for sharing such interesting spidey info.


  • individuality gold member
    May 9, 2008

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    yes, i did enjoy reading that then, i used to have a book on spiders but have not got it anymore and have forgotten a lot of what i read way back when. a good educational piece here