Unidentified spider - red/green abdomen

Bruce Williams · #1 (**permalink**) 26-10-2008, 01:18 PM

Stockgrove Country Park, Beds. Size ~6mm

Wore my eyes out checking through Collins' field guide to spiders without finding a match (yep I know there is one - I'm just not good with guides

).

My best guess would be a spider in the Tetragnathidae family, a Meta sp. maybe?

Bruce

dmclean2 · #2 (**permalink**) 26-10-2008, 01:37 PM

Hi Bruce,
I think your'e right it's a Meta/ Metalina sp, and I'll say M. Mengei, looks like a male,
I had one confirmed a while back and I compared it to yours and got a good match,
Duncan

Venger · #3 (**permalink**) 26-10-2008, 02:39 PM

More likely a male Metellina segmentata, remember M.mengei has long ventral hairs on the metatarsus (I & II), which from what I can see this one doesn't.
Generally M.mengei mature before M.segmentata.

Geoff F · #4 (**permalink**) 26-10-2008, 03:00 PM

M. segmenta can vary a lot in colouration and have totally confused me on many occasions.

Venger · #5 (**permalink**) 26-10-2008, 03:17 PM

M.segmentata as well as M.mengei are both very variable - so much so that you can't use patterning and colouration to id them (not that you should on any species).

Bruce Williams · #6 (**permalink**) 26-10-2008, 08:10 PM

Duncan, Des and Geoff - Thanks for your help with identification and the extra information. I'm in two minds about variability - on the one hand it adds hugely to the pleasure in watching and photographing a species but it can sometimes frustrate that need we have to accurately label what we see.

Hmmm......I think on balance I'm gonna side with the yea's

.

Bruce