Bright eyed spider

[Bruce Williams]

Stockgrove Country Park, Beds. Saw several of these along about 100m of mature wooden fencing under Scots Pine.

Help with identification appreciated as always.



Bruce

[Bruce Williams]

Thought I should clarify the word "retouched" that appears as part of the filename for these images (and some of my other WAB postings).

It does NOT mean that the images have been artificially altered or added to in any way. These images are the result of a 3 frame focus stack using Zerene Stacker. Zerene automatically adds a "retouched" designation to the output filename whenever the manual facility to clean up stacking errors has been used.

Bruce

[Jason Green]

Afternoon Bruce,

I suspect it's a Crab spider, but impossible for me to ID from this angle. Do you have a dorsal? I certainly appreciate the artistic composition, but ID shots are usually better from top-down

Take care,

Jason

[Rossco]

Bruce, it's a wolf spider of some sort and the shape of the head suggest the genus Pardosa. Don't know what species I'm afraid and I doubt a species name could be put to it from a photo like this.

[Bruce Williams]

Thanks for your help Jason and Rosco.

Yes I half expected problems because of the low viewpoint. The spider was on top of a 5 foot high fencepost so a dorsal shot was not really a possibility. I did however shoot a side-on view of what I'm certain is a female of the same species (I spotted several similar spiders at various points along the same fence). Anyway I'll check and see what other shots I have and will post this evening.

Bruce

[Bruce Williams]

Here's the pic of a female taken on the same fence (different fencepost) on the same day:



Hope this helps.

Bruce

[Rossco]

Yep, definitely a wolf spider and very probably a Pardosa species, but have a good look.

[Bruce Williams]

Thanks Rossco - I also have a slightly more dorsal shot of another female taken same location, same day that I can post if you think it might help.

I was interested to note the very flat posture these spiders take up on their fence posts - although I guess this makes sense as they are a hunting species.

Bruce

[Rossco]

Bruce, you'd probably need a photo of the underside and a good luck at the pedipalps to tell the species.

The 'flat' posture you mentioned is primarily for thermoregulation as the pale wood is an open space that reflects relatively more infra-red radiation than the surroundings. As wolf spiders and indeed all spiders are ectotherms basking is very important to maintain their internal temperature in the range where cellular activity is most efficient.

[Bruce Williams]

Rossco - Bit disappointed that the spider can't be identified but thanks a lot for info. on thermoregulation - your help and interest appreciated.

Bruce