Spiders

Spider (Garden)

Debbie — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 13:19:42 +0000

The Garden Spider is also known as the Cross Spider because it has white dots on it back that form the shape of a cross. It can be found throughout the country in woodlands, parks and gardens on bushes and other vegetation. It is an orb-weaving spider because it weaves a circular web in a spiral pattern. The spider waits patiently in the centre of the web and when an insect gets caught in it, the spider quickly wraps the insect with fine silk to immobilise it. The Garden Spider then kills the insect with a venomous bite before eating it.

The Garden Spider is approximately one centimetre in length and can be a sandy-brown colour or dark brown. Its body is divided into two parts: the ‘cephalothorax’ and the ‘abdomen’. The cephalothorax holds eight eyes, four pairs of hairy legs and the spider’s jaws. The abdomen has silk-producing organs called ‘spinnerets’ which are situated at the rear of the abdomen.

The female Garden Spider makes an egg sac out of silk and lays her eggs in it. The young, known as spiderlings, hatch out of the eggs in May. Each spiderling is yellow with a black pyramid-shaped marking on its back. The spiderlings stay together in a group until they have developed enough to be fully independent.

Spider (Money)

Debbie — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 13:25:31 +0000

There are around two hundred and fifty Money Spiders in England, but the most common Money Spider has the Latin name ‘Leptohoptrum Robustrum’. This Money Spider can be found throughout the country in woodlands, parks and gardens. It weaves a hammock-shaped web close to the ground and the web is supported by lots of tangled lines of thread which are attached to vegetation and plants above. The Money Spider waits patiently underneath the web for an insect to get trapped and then it bites the insect to paralyse it. The spider then wraps the insect in silk before eating it.

The Money Spider (Leptohoptrum Robustrum) is about five millimetres in length and its body is divided into two parts, which are the ‘cephalothrax’ and the ‘abdomen’. The cephalothrox is a brown colour and holds eight eyes, four pairs of brown legs and the spider’s jaws. The abdomen is brown-black with white markings and has silk-producing organs called ‘spinnerets’ which are situated at the rear of the abdomen.

The female Money Spider (Leptohoptrum Robustrum) makes an egg sac out of silk and lays her eggs in it and the young, called spiderlings, hatch out of the eggs around May. Each spiderling is yellow with a black pyramid-shaped marking on its back. The spiderlings stay together in groups until they have developed enough to be fully independent. Many spiderlings of other species of spiders are referred to as Money Spiders.

Spider (Raft)

Debbie — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 13:21:58 +0000

The Raft Spider is the largest spider found in England and is sometimes known as the ‘fishing spider’ because it likes to sit at the edge of ponds with its front legs resting on the surface of the water. It does this to feel any vibrations small insects make in the water and when it has detected its prey, it runs across the water to catch it. It also vibrates the surface of the water with its front legs to catch tadpoles, small frogs and even small fish. The Raft Spider is more commonly seen in the south in ponds, marshes, ditches and swamps.

The Raft Spider is dark brown or black with a white or cream stripe on either side of its body. Its body is divided into two parts, which are the ‘cephalothorax’ and the ‘abdomen’. The ‘cephalothorox’ holds eight eyes, four pairs of long sturdy legs and the spider’s jaws. The abdomen has silk-producing organs called ‘spinnerets’ which are situated at the rear of the abdomen. The female can be over two centimetres in length and the male is usually around one centimetre long.

The female Raft Spider lays her eggs in an egg sac which she carries around under her body until the young are ready to hatch out. The she releases the egg sac onto a leaf and spins a protective silk web around it to protect the young when they first emerge. The young are called ‘spiderlings’ and they stay in the protective web for around a week before they leave to develop into fully grown Raft Spiders.

Spider (Wolf)

Debbie — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 13:23:04 +0000

The Wolf Spider has its name the ‘Wolf Spider’ because it hunts its prey down, rather than catching prey in a web. This spider doesn’t weave a web, but chases and leaps on any prey that comes into sight. It is a quick and agile hunter that can be found in woodlands and gardens. In winter it can also be found in houses near windows, doors, house plants and in basements to avoid the cold weather. The Wolf Spider which is very common in England comes under the Latin name ‘Pardosa Amentata’.

The Wolf Spider (Pardosa Amentata) is about six to eight millimetres in length and has a brownish coloured body with darker brown markings. Its body is divided into two parts, which are the ‘cephalothorax’ and the ‘abdomen’. The cephalothrox holds eight eyes, four pairs of hairy legs and the spider’s jaws. The abdomen has silk-producing organs called ‘spinnerets’ which are situated at the rear of the abdomen.

The female Wolf Spider (Pardosa Amentata) makes an egg sac out of silk and lays her eggs in it. She carries the sac under her body which is attached by silk threads produced from the spinnerets. The newly-hatched young, called ‘spiderlings’, cling onto their mother’s back and ride around with her for about a week till they have grown a little bit bigger. Then they leave to develop into adult Wolf Spiders.

Zebra Spider

Debbie — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 13:24:06 +0000

The Zebra Spider is a tiny spider that can be found all around the country on plants, walls, fences and on window ledges, especially on sunny days. This spider doesn’t make a web out of silk thread like other spiders, but uses its silk thread to act as an anchor when it sees prey. It dangles in the air on the thread and when it sees an insect, it lowers itself down very slowly and then jumps on an insect to paralyse it with its venomous bite. Sometimes this spider is called the ‘jumping spider’. It can jump up to ten centimetres.

The Zebra Spider has a black body with white hairs that form stripes and it is because of these black and white stripes that this spider has its name the ‘Zebra Spider'. Its body is divided into two parts: the ‘cephalothorax’ and the ‘abdomen’. The ‘cephalothorox’ holds four pairs of long sturdy legs, the spider’s jaws and eight eyes. It is believed that this spider has the best eyesight of any spider in the world. The abdomen has silk-producing organs called ‘spinnerets’ which are situated at the rear of the abdomen. The female can be over two centimetres in length and the male is usually around one centimetre long.

The female Zebra Spider makes an egg sac out of silk and lays her eggs in it. The young that hatch out of the eggs are called ‘spiderlings’ and they stay with their mother for about a week before leaving to develop into fully grown Zebra Spiders.