Id please

[Trik]

Thanks
Trik

[wildherbalian85]

Steatoda Nobilis

[Trik]

Many thanks. I see from Wikipedia that it is one of the so-called False Widow spiders, originally from the Canary Islands. That could perhaps account for it seeking the warmth of the house, as the weather has turned quite cool. It is now outside - in the rain

Trik

PS : Can you tell me what the protrusion is on its righthand side, just above the back pair of legs, please?

[wildherbalian85]

Originally Posted by Trik

Many thanks. I see from Wikipedia that it is one of the so-called False Widow spiders, originally from the Canary Islands. That could perhaps account for it seeking the warmth of the house, as the weather has turned quite cool. It is now outside - in the rain

Trik

PS : Can you tell me what the protrusion is on its righthand side, just above the back pair of legs, please?

It would appear as if it was a leg stump... but im not sure if spiders can grow back legs that they have lost.

The weather is not too cool for them as these can be found living happily in out-buildings even in the winter.

[John_M]

It's not the stump of a missing leg, as there are clearly eight legs. I think it just looks like a stump because of the angle the photo is taken at. Spiders can regrow legs; a missing leg can regrow when they moult.
I have quite a few of these living quite happily outside, in my garden.

[Trik]

Originally Posted by John_M

I think it just looks like a stump because of the angle the photo is taken at. Spiders can regrow legs; a missing leg can regrow when they moult.

A closer inspection of the photo shows that you are right, John M. Thanks for that.

I have heard that, if times are hard, spiders may eat one of their own limbs and then re-grow a replacement. Is this true?

Trik

[John_M]

Originally Posted by Trik

A closer inspection of the photo shows that you are right, John M. Thanks for that.

I have heard that, if times are hard, spiders may eat one of their own limbs and then re-grow a replacement. Is this true?

Trik

To the best of my knowledge and belief, that is not true; to be honest, I think there would be a net energy loss in eating its own limb and growing another, so it would be pointless.
I have seen spiders with a leg in their chelicerae, sometimes more than one leg in sequence, but they seem so be cleaning, or some other reason, perhaps sensory?

[No.9 Spider]

The process of spiders ejecting legs voluntarily is called Autotomy, and is usually done to evade capture by other insects or if a limb becomes entangled. Except for some members of one family (Linyphiidae) the normal separation point for autotomy is between the coxa and the trochanter. In certain linyphiids, the separation point is between the patella and the tibia.
A leg can usually be regenerated at the next moult, provided that the spider is not already mature and so can't moult again. In theraphosids a leg can gradually gain its normal size over a number of moults.



No.9 Spider

[Trik]

I don`t think that I shall ever be comfortable with spiders - the large ones, anyway - but learning interesting things about them may make me more tolerant, perhaps, so thanks for the replies.

Trik

[John_M]

Originally Posted by Trik

I don`t think that I shall ever be comfortable with spiders - the large ones, anyway - but learning interesting things about them may make me more tolerant, perhaps, so thanks for the replies.

Trik

My 5 year old daughter has gone from being afraid of them, to actively hunting them whenever we are out, purely down to learning more about them; however, my son still freaks out if he finds one crawling on him, although he's improving