spider ID

[squishy]

i have a funny field microscope, its a disk with the lens on top, and i can observe the spider while he is the in the specimen pot with it, but if i open the lid for a photograph, he would pounce on the opportunity to escape.

H. hombergi does look quite similar.

i'll try that spy pot DMC


thanks

[Geoff F]

I tried the 2 pots and cling film idea last year but the first spider just ripped a hole in the film and ran away!

[Meta menardi]

Originally Posted by Geoff F

I tried the 2 pots and cling film idea last year but the first spider just ripped a hole in the film and ran away!

A bee will go straight through it, but in 5 years I have never had any spider do it. What was it?

By the way, Duncan, can you PM a source for your macro thingy, I can't track it down from any of the text I can read on your photos, and the reference in the Collins field guide goes nowhere.

[Geoff F]

I think it was a Zygiella x-notata (found in my kitchen) but it scarpered before I managed a definite ID and ran off into the larder.

Possibly, I had too much space between the pots and didn't trap it firmly enough so it had chance to rear up and 'attack' the film. I will try some modifications and have another go. But I found the film made photography a bit blurry.

Hoverflies certainly ripped through the film in seconds.

[Meta menardi]

I usually flatten them upside down to examine the epigyne (no damage).