mini spider id?

[chocolatechip]

hey,

i found this bright tiny spider in my bathroom,i know the photo is awful, but it ran away before i could capture it better. i have waited and it is yet to comeback out of it's hidey hole...

it's abour 2-3mm, bright red, with a black blob on the end.

i've had a look in collins spider book and can't see any the match it, any ideas?

(i'm still hoping it will come back out, for a better picture)

[Venger]

Looks like an Ostearius melanopygius, a member of the Linyphiidae family. The red abdomen and black tip give it away, though I'd need a much better picture to be sure.
Widespread throughout the UK:
Ostearius melanopygius distribution

[chocolatechip]

thanks venger,

i will keep a look out a get a better picture if i can..

i looked up this spider on google,and i'd say it was most likely that species..

i have noticed that when searching for spiders on the internet and in books there is a huge lack of information, i guess this is because people think they are "evil" (my partner included) i think they are really interesting,and never realised how many different spiders we have in this country. would you recommend any books or websites?

i have the collins book, however the pictures are drawings of spiders,andi always think it is hard to compare a real spider with a drawing??

thanks again.

[Venger]

Hmm well it depends on how much you are into spiders
There are several out of print (sadly) books that go further than the Collin's field guide (Spiders, britain and Northern Europe), some by the same author (Michael J Roberts) as well as several others:
Book List

As for websites, well there are quite a few, some are better than others. You might try these:
Spiders of NW Europe << is a good visual beginner site (though not 100% confirmed)
Great British Spiders

For more advanced sites:

German spider site<<good if you know the scientific names (palps and epigynes displayed most of the time)
Jorgen Lissner spider site<< great macros, could help you ID

Good for keys:

another German spider site<< you'll need to run it through a translation site unless you read German.

As for the Collins guide, use the illustrations as a guide - then go and look at the text as not all species are illustrated.

Using all of these together will help you 'get an eye' for ID'ing spiders.

[No.9 Spider]

I think the best you'll do for general I.D.'s are the first two on Venger's B.A.S. link:

Collins Field Guide: Spiders of Britain and Northern Europe by Michael J. Roberts. 450 species illustrated by colour plates and drawings; published by Harper Collins, 1995

The Country Life Guide to spiders of Britain and Northern Europe by Dick Jones. 350 species illustrated by photographs published by Country Life Books/Hamlyn, 1983

Also the Keys to Families of British Spiders by L.M.Jones-Walters, AIDGAP Guide, Field Studies Council No. 197, published by the Field Studies Council, 1989 is a good guide initially to getting species to family level.

The remainder on the list, The Spiders of Great Britain and Ireland by Michael J.Roberts. Vols I, II, 1985, III 1987. Lavishly produced three-volume work; published by Harley Books
The Spiders of Great Britain and Ireland Compact Edition, by Michael J.Roberts, published by Harley Books, 1993
British Spiders by G.H.Locket and A.F.Millidge. Vol I 1951, Vol II 1953, published by Ray Society of London.
British Spiders by G.H.Locket, A.F.Millidge and P.Merrett. Vol III 1974, published by Ray Society of London are for identifying to species level in accompaniment with a microscope, but are great books to have anyway.
I still use the Lockett, Millidge bibles quite a lot.
Another lovely book to have is The World of Spiders by W.S. Bristowe, well worth a read and later 1976 editions are quite cheap.

There are plenty of books out there but prior to Lockett and Millidge, the older they are, the less accurate they become often to the point of being ridiculous! still an amusing read though.

No.9 Spider

[chocolatechip]

thanks i will have a look later at these websites, and will look for books, but i'm low on funds so the library is the place for me

oh and i'll keep on looking for spiders.

sj