Spider Definitive Guide - Where?

Seang · #1 (**permalink**) 02-07-2009, 07:58 AM

Hi,
Please can someone advise me where I can get a definitive guide on UK spiders; including images - I havel ooked one the web and but I am not having too much luck in finding the absolute guide.

Thank you very much in advance.

Sean

No.9 Spider · #2 (**permalink**) 02-07-2009, 03:32 PM

Probably the one best suited and the only one with photo's is the out of print Dick Jones Guide. It is by no means comprehensive and is only a guide, you could not i.d. to a specific species using it (apart from the minority obvious ones).
The only way to i.d. a species with any certainty is by examination of the genitalia using a low power microscope and either the Roberts or Lockett & Millidge guides.

No.9 Spider

Geoff F · #3 (**permalink**) 02-07-2009, 06:33 PM

The Collins Field Guide to Spiders of Britain & Northern Europe by Michael Roberts is widely available for around £20 and while by no means the definitive guide it is an adequate reference source for most general purposes. I frequently refer to it.

Most of those excellent out of print books are available secondhand but aren't cheap. The Lockett & Millidge books are now available as a CD from Pemberley Books and while not cheap, it is about half the average price for secondhand copies.

The only possible problem with the older books is that some species have been renamed and reclassified recently, so some care is necessary in their use.