ID please.....if possible

[rangersarah2]

Me too.

[Geoff F]

You may find this earlier post useful British Spider ID Books

I use the Roberts book which is a good read even without the illustrations.

But as spiders, like so many other insects etc, don't comply with a strict 'dress code' it can prove impossible to get an ID from a photo. In fact I have numerous reasonable photos where I can't even be sure of the family leave alone the species.

But I think that with every failure of a species ID, I have learn't something new; and there is so much to learn.

For example, when considering this original question, I looked at a few spider images that seemed possible but ruled out E. ovata as the overall colour didn't look quite correct compared with my book. But after Venger's comments I noticed the spider's black 'knees' which was a clue that I had overlooked.

[No.9 Spider]

The Aidgap - Keys to families of British Spiders, 1989 Jones-Walters is a good guide in getting to family level and for photo based i.d. though only as a rough guide, "THE COUNTRY LIFE GUIDE TO SPIDERS OF BRITAIN AND NORTHERN EUROPE", DICK JONES, COUNTRY LIFE BOOKS, 1983. ISBN 0 600 35665 5 (SOFTBACK) is well worth a look, though is hard to source and expensive nowadays (and to think I bought a few of these for a few quid each in the late 80's and gave all but one away )


No.9 Spider

[rangersarah2]

Thanks Spider, will try to track them down. You can't have too many books and I always try to have a few on each subject.

Why spiders for you?

[Jason Claxton]

Thanks Geoff and No.9,the FSC AIDGAP book is inexpensive as well,as with most of the AIDGAP series .Cheers Jason.

[No.9 Spider]

[quote=......................Why spiders for you?[/QUOTE]


It's something I've been asked on many occasions but honestly have no answer. I've been fascinated (some say obsessed ) by spiders since I was a child, which is now so long ago.
I collected British spiders and tried to keep them when I was about eight, bought a tarantula at sixteen, ended up with over 300 at one point and got seriously into British spiders over 20 years ago.
Why I don't know.
Having read Biology of Spiders by Rainer F. Foelix (fantastic book if you really want to know how spiders work) many years ago, the fascination was cemented once the realisation of how complex and sense orientated these creatures are. I could imagine them being a man made sensory device almost.
I also have a lifelong love of helicopters , so work that one out, is it some pyschological factor bearing in mind the similarity between the rotors and the legs of a spider?
So dozens of spider books and a few microscopes later and the fascination persists.
I still don't really know why spiders - just a natural fascination I suppose (though I do love all aspects of natural history).



No.9 Spider

[rangersarah2]

Originally Posted by No.9 Spider

It's something I've been asked on many occasions but honestly have no answer. I've been fascinated (some say obsessed ) by spiders since I was a child, which is now so long ago.
I collected British spiders and tried to keep them when I was about eight, bought a tarantula at sixteen, ended up with over 300 at one point and got seriously into British spiders over 20 years ago.
Why I don't know.
Having read Biology of Spiders by Rainer F. Foelix (fantastic book if you really want to know how spiders work) many years ago, the fascination was cemented once the realisation of how complex and sense orientated these creatures are. I could imagine them being a man made sensory device almost.
I also have a lifelong love of helicopters , so work that one out, is it some pyschological factor bearing in mind the similarity between the rotors and the legs of a spider?
So dozens of spider books and a few microscopes later and the fascination persists.
I still don't really know why spiders - just a natural fascination I suppose (though I do love all aspects of natural history).

No.9 Spider

How big would a spider have to be to catch and hold a (small) helicoper?