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Araniella proxima does not occur in Britain. This is certainly an adult male Araniella orb web spider, but there are 5 variable species found in Britain, which cannot be identified to species without careful examination of adult female epigyne or male palp structure under a microscope. Yours is almost certainly either Araniella cucurbitina or A. opisthographa.

Just watched this spider wander across my table and hadn't seen one before. Moved too quickly for decent pictures from the rear! Is it perhaps Araniella proxima?

The false widow has been in our garage for over a year. The two house spiders appeared today and seem to be trying to usurp the widow. One house spider patrols the web And agitates the widow who reacts by broadening her shape but not moving. The other house spider is not moving and staying close to the widow. I wondered whether this was normal behaviour? Can these two species mutually share a web, or will one species perish in the fight for the prime spot (it is a prime spot for flies and wasps!) do you think? Thanks!

As far as can be seen from the photo this is likely to be an adult male Philodromus dispar, one of the few a 'running crab spiders' which can be identified to species from photographs.

This is one of the house spiders Tegenaria / Eratigena species. They can't be identified to species without examination under a microscope, but they are harmless and occur in most buildings in the country.

Found this morning in our kitchen, DT2 7ES.

Hi there, I've just found this website but have been interested in spiders for a while. There are so many around where I live in Dorset, I thought I'd start finding out more about them. Please see an image of one we found today in a wood bin store, DT2 7ES. Does anyone know what it is? Thanks, Louisa

Yes this looks like Steatoda nobilis, the so-called 'noble false widow', the spider which the media make such an unjustified fuss about. It has been frequent in the southern coastal counties of England for a great many years, and is nowadays frequent and abundant in many areas of southern England and Wales, including the south coast, south-west, south-east, London area and East Anglia, and increasingly much further north. The media frenzy caused by this spider is unwarranted. Steatoda nobilis spiders are unobtrusive, have no interest in attacking humans and would only bite if they were put into a position where they do so as a defensive reaction. They are no greater risk than honey bees and social wasps. There are a number of other 'false widows' in Britain, some which are native or have been in the country for centuries, so there is a lot of misinformation about these spiders.

Hello.  I have been awaiting the arrival of Steatoda Nobilis in my garden in Henley on Thames for some years.  My house is 'infested' with Steatoda Grossa and I have a lot of Steatoda Bipunctata in the dog kennels outside.  Today I have found my first ever Steatoda Nobilis in my garden, grid reference SU 77584 79410.  I am quite confident in my identification but thought I would check on here.  Interestingly, last night I found a Steatoda specimen in my kitchen that I could not identify, perhaps it was a variation of Nobilis but I let it go without photographing it.  Kind Regards. 

Where are you trying to upload info and a picture about a spider? If you are logged-on, there is an Picture upload link which allows pictures to be uploaded according to the picture upload guidelines (2Mb maximum filesize, title characters not allowed etc). You do not have access to modify pages, but can upload photos for a species (if you are positive about its identification) from a speces Summary page. Anything else about info and photos can be submitted via this forum page or via the Contact us link

Hi I just joined tonight and I’ve been trying to upload info about a spider I found. The page won’t let me add a pic so I tried adding the info without the pic and it still won’t let me submit info! Very frustrating!

This is a Tetragnatha orb web spider, probably Tetragnatha extensa one of a number of closely similar species. Tetragnatha extensa is probably the most widespread and is often found in damper places.

Thank you so much for the help Peter!

Hi, Very new to spiders and couldn’t find this in Collins field guide...

GR. TL 558 474 17 May 2020

Thanks

Mark

This is a Heliophanus jumping spider, either H. flavipes or cupreus, both of which are quite variable in appearance. They need microscopical exmaination for defintive identification top species.

Hello, This little spider jumped onto my knee and quickly jumped back off after the picture. The pale yellow parts were actually iridescent green in person, which is what made me curious. I believe it is a phidippus audax, however I can't find information about them being in the UK, so wanted to make sure. Thanks for the help.

Hi Please can someone identify this spider for me, thanks

It is a large jumping spider. Body length (not legs) of adult females is quoted to be in range 8-10mn, but gravid and well-fed females can be larger, adult males slightly smaller. Spiders rarely read the books though.

Hi Peter,

Many thanks for the identification.  I confirm she was found on Friday 8th May at our postcode, sitting on a plastic pot in the garden (looking rather conspicuous as the pot is white).

Is there any information available about the size this species usually reaches?

This is Marpissa muscosa, a spider which occurs mostly on old tree trunks, on paling fences and the like, where its coloration provides excellent camouflage and slightly flattened body allows the spider to hide under loose bark. Can you confirm please the date of your record of this spider and that it was found at the postcode on the photos.

Thank you for your identifications and the warning about the other species. I try to enter the record of the Fen spider.

I came across this black spider in my utility room which opens on to my garden in Harrow, North West London, HA2 7JJ. Looked jet black to me, very bulbous abdomen , about 5 cms long overall. Get lots of spiders in my house and garden but have not seen this one before. Grateful for identification. Thank you.

Hi,

Please can you kindly confirm the identity of this jumping spider and whether she? is an unusually large size?

The 'measurement' shot is taken on my phone, the others obviously not!

Many thanks in advance, Julia

The second photo shows a Pirata lycosid species, not Dolomedes. The first certainly shows Dolomedes fimbriatus, but you cannot be sure this is adult unless you can see a fully formed adult female epigyne on the underneath of the adomen, which even in this large species would require a high quality lens or microscopical examination. If logged-in, you can edit the title of your photo. Incidentally iRecord data does not normally come to the recording scheme, since it would be a vast amount of work to verify all the records involved, which for many of the 670+ species of British spiders would require verification of voucher specimens by Area Organisers. The scheme works through Area Organisers, whose role includes verification and helping spider recorders in their county/s or region.

Here are two pictures:

Both taken in a heathland pond, with sphagnum. ( pond to N E of site- I have mistakenly said S on photo file name.) The first, in Feb, is clearly an adult, but is the seconds in May, a juvenile? It was walking on the surface and seemed to be using its feet to sense vibration on the surface. Easy to miss them, but was out looking for dragonflies, which involves a lot of looking round pond edges and only found them on this one pond, where I think they have been seen before. SU85336503

I assume I enter the record separately once ID confirmed and I delete the first record from IRecord to avoid duplication. Is that correct procedure?

Thank you in advance

Found in Peterborough on a wooden slat

Hi,

I found this harvestman in my bathroom on Friday 1st May. It appears to have a two-tone abdomen; something I have not come across before. Can anyone suggest an identification?

Thanks,

Dave Winchester UK

This certainly looks to be one of the cave spiders Meta species, although they usually don't have the pattern of markings shown on the abdomen in your photo. Microscopical examination of adults is needed for certain identification to species though since the appearance of the species and legs are variable, and the most likely is M. menardi.

Found in an old water tank in a dark, damp unused part of our garden in West Cornwall (TR13 0NB) on 02/05/2020. Body ranging from 5-10mm and size including legs is approximately 30mm. We think it could be Meta Bourneti but any advice or suggestions would be gratefully received.

Thank you,

Perran (9 years old) and parents.

This will certainly be Pseudeuophrys lanigera From your photo the spider appears to a subadult male, where the palps do not yet have their adult structure. This means they will not have the same appearance. Yes, added to the database.

HI, I found this spider on 5-04-20 under the hasp of a garden shed door in Halifax, West Yorkshire SE 07743 27510.

I didn't catch it to inspect it more closely. At first I thought it must be a lanigera because of the habitat - I had been mending the shed roof - but the palps are as described in the BAS field guide for erratica: light femur and patella but darker at the tip.

The carapace and abdomen markings seem inconclusive.

Can anyone help?

- Thanks for the response, Peter. Hope it will be added to the records.

Thanks!

This is an Araniella orb web spider, but there are 5 variable species found in Britain, which cannot be identified to species without examination of adults under a microscope. Yours is probably Araniella cucurbitina or A. opisthographa. They are harmless to humans.

Bright green spider found in a plum tree.  I have never seen one before but then again I've never spent as much time in my garden as I have during the last 6 weeks!! SY23 3QQ