Pitfall trap - first attempt, with a potential 'pitfall' of a problem...

[Jason Green]

Afternoon all,

I have just checked my first attempt at pitfall-trapping - only to discover a spider from the Lepthyphantes genus (likely L. nebulosus) has built a sheet-like web about an inch up - right across and above the floor. Obviously any insects falling in would end up killed by the spider, or severely tangled up in the web. Consequently, that isn't exactly conducive to recording/releasing specimens!

Are their any solutions for this - or is it just a potential pitfall (Get it? ) for this kind of trapping?

Thanks

Take care,

Jason

[Gerel]

Hi Jason,

Personally because I'm not often looking for spiders (so looking for other groups) I have found that they can be a right pain. Either they eat the other stuff or everything gets tangled in web. Don't know if there is a solution other than very frequent checking/cleaning of traps.

BTW The first time I made pitfalls, I made the cone out of thin card which was quickly eaten by slugs, again not helpful.

Steve

[Jason Green]

Thanks Steve. Cleaning is a good idea - though it had been only 24hrs that I'd set it up for! Weather-cover provided, of course.

I would have been quite grateful for the record - had it not been for it being so common/already well-recorded here! I released the spider a fair distance away (but in the same habitat, naturally).

[Paul mabbott]

Spiders are the least of your problems: large predatory beetles, particularly larvae, will eat anything else that falls in! Live pitfall trapping, unfortunately, will only detect a small proportion of the ground fauna.

[charlieb]

There's a snippet about pitfall traps in the latest edition of Beetle News