A few id Spider pics

[col188]

Think Three are maybe of the same Wolf Spider, the red one maybe Atypus. The other not sure even though I've now got Collins Spiders field guide
Col

Ps I'm quite keen to show spiders in there natural environment where possible, even though it makes ids difficult.

[Venger]

Sizes! If you're after ID's please give sizes (excluding legs)

1:Steatoda bipunctata (hard to say what the second spider in the picture is - to blurry)
2:Ostearius melanopygius
3:An opolione - a harvestman (not a spider but an arachnid)
4:Hard to say, a Theridiidae sp I'd say (possibly Steatoda bipunctata)
5, 6 & 7:A Lycosidae (a wolf spider) looks like a male Trochosa sp (can't say which without sizes)
8:Tegenaria sp

[col188]

Thanks Venger
The last 4 were the largest estimate 5-7mm, estimate 1, 2, 3, 3-4mm and 4 slightly smaller.
I included the other out of focus spiders to show the closeness of the Spiders in the first 3pics. Which I didn't explain were in the lid of a compost bin, held up by my daughter. Took as many pics as I could, as the spiders sort sanctuary, in any nook or cranny they could......... all good fun

The other pics taken inside the 'under the cabin storage area', and inside the just opened access door........ so again I was down on my knees.

Ostearius melanopygius one of the few not illustrated in Colour, in Collins Field Guide Spiders.

Col

PS More pics coming very soon.......

[Geoff F]

For the Harvestman (No. 3) I would be tempted to suggest Paroligolophus agrestis although I wouldn't rule out Oligolophus tridens.

But wait to see if Gordon has any comments on this one first.

[col188]

Originally Posted by Venger

Sizes! If you're after ID's please give sizes (excluding legs)

1:Steatoda bipunctata (hard to say what the second spider in the picture is - to blurry)
2:Ostearius melanopygius
3:An opolione - a harvestman (not a spider but an arachnid)
4:Hard to say, a Theridiidae sp I'd say (possibly Steatoda bipunctata)
5, 6 & 7:A Lycosidae (a wolf spider) looks like a male Trochosa sp (can't say which without sizes)
8:Tegenaria sp

Looking through Collins 'Spiders' it's closest to Trochosa ruricola, which I'm sure it is.
Col
PS thanks Geoff, I'll look it up.

[Venger]

Use the pictures as a guide and then look at the details - if you notice it could quite easily have been T.robusta (especially before you gave me sizes) - you can't just go by pictures, or at least not just by one picture.
You need to cross reference them - with other guides/keys or with correctly ID'd photos.
Either way it's never going to be 100% accurate till you can view the palps or epigyne under a field lens or microscope.

Helpful sites which should give you a good cross reference:

Photo Gallery Arachnida
Spiders of Europe and Greenland
Spider Relatives, Arachnids, at Eurospiders.com
Salticidae :: Araneae :: Arachnida :: worldwide database of jumping spiders by Dr. Heiko Metzner

Good key (make sure you translate it, its in German)
Bestimmung_Ganz

Depending on which edition of Collins you have you'll need to update some of the listings - (name changes mainly) and one wrongly (so I've been told) Pardosa sp (should be saltans rather than lugubris)
The Checklist of British Spiders - British Arachnological Society

[rangersarah2]

Please. please, please could you also give English names (if there is one). I'm a beginner and not up to your standard (and probably never will be).

[Venger]

Hi Sarah,
Sadly they don't all have 'English names' or even if they do it's not a very specific one (ie 'garden spider', or 'window spider')
Even things like 'zebra jumping spider' (Salticus sp) or 'false widow spider' (Steatoda sp), they only cover a group of spiders rather than a specific species.

For a beginner I'd suggest just going for family groups rather than species (which is where it gets tricky).
Once you start to pick up those, then you can move onto the next step.

If in doubt, we're always here to help

[No.9 Spider]

..............also common names can often confuse. Whereas I imagine that most of us regard the Garden spider as being Araneus quadratus, in some areas you could find the garden spider referred to is Araneus quadratus (Four Spot Orb Weaver).
This is a basic example of why we use Linnaean classification, the taxonomic system invented by Carl Linné.
If you refer to Araneus diadematus it is specific as there is only the one and we know that we are talking about the exact spider.
As Venger has said common names are ok at family level, beyond that they would be pointless anyway as many species of a family are both too similar and variable in appearance.



No.9 Spider

[rangersarah2]

Originally Posted by Venger

Hi Sarah,
Sadly they don't all have 'English names' or even if they do it's not a very specific one (ie 'garden spider', or 'window spider')
Even things like 'zebra jumping spider' (Salticus sp) or 'false widow spider' (Steatoda sp), they only cover a group of spiders rather than a specific species.

For a beginner I'd suggest just going for family groups rather than species (which is where it gets tricky).
Once you start to pick up those, then you can move onto the next step.

If in doubt, we're always here to help

Thanks for that - excellent explanation. Always wondered why everyone used the Latin. I had suspected it was a bit of showing off Family names would do me fine for now. Have only just got interested in spiders having recently overcome lifelong arachnaphobia. Brilliant creatures.

Is there really a red and white spider called red and white spider?