Spider for Id please

pammosley · #1 (**permalink**) 10-10-2011, 08:07 PM

Hi Folks, could anyone point us in the right direction for this spider please. Taken on Sunday in wetland

Many thanks for looking

Geoff F · #2 (**permalink**) 11-10-2011, 07:27 PM

Rather looks like Meta segmenta to me. But that isn't guaranteed.

Apparently, recent thinking is that the name should now be Metellina segmenta.

sebastianbawn · #3 (**permalink**) 12-10-2011, 09:28 AM

Don't Meta species produce an orb web? Looks a little messy, my first guess was a Linyphidae?

pammosley · #4 (**permalink**) 12-10-2011, 02:28 PM

Hi guys, many thanks for taking the time to look. This spider was about 10mm body size plus the legs.

MattPrince · #5 (**permalink**) 12-10-2011, 04:56 PM

For what it'sd worth I agree with Geoff, it has the look of one of the metallina species pair - most likely to be m. segmentata at this time of the year.

Of course you need very close up pictures of the male palps (or female epigyne) to be certain of a species identification, and sometimes even the genus can be hard to pin down with certainty from a photo.

Cheers,
Matt

Geoff F · #6 (**permalink**) 12-10-2011, 08:06 PM

Don't Meta species produce an orb web? Looks a little messy, my first guess was a Linyphidae?

I think it's web has collapsed around the prey and all that is left is a few of the cross strands.

That seems to look a bit on the coarse side for a 'typical' Linyphidae fine web.

pammosley · #7 (**permalink**) 12-10-2011, 08:46 PM

Hi guys, thanks for all the ideas & info. I`ve googled Meta Segmenta & agree that this is a likely candidate. We are just starting to ID spiders & are happy to find out what family they are. There is an awful lot to take in

nikolai_avenger · #8 (**permalink**) 13-10-2011, 10:15 AM

I'm inclined to agree with Metellina on this one.

Cheers. Nik.

MattPrince · #9 (**permalink**) 13-10-2011, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pammosley

Hi guys, thanks for all the ideas & info. I`ve googled Meta Segmenta & agree that this is a likely candidate. We are just starting to ID spiders & are happy to find out what family they are. There is an awful lot to take in

Good strategy - took me ages to get anywhere with spiders, partly because the markings are so variable, and even getting the right family can be difficult. Quite rewarding when you do finally make inroads and can start calling philodromus, tetragnatha etc..

There is a lot you can learn just by looking for the commoner species and seeing their different web structures and behaviour. Meta/metalllina are a good one to get to grips with, as m. mengei and m. segmentata are, at different times of the year, some of the commonest orb weaving species. Linyphia triangularis is another very common beasty, which does have a similar body form (look for one upside down on a web between low branches / vegetation and it shouldn't be long before you find one, if you haven't already) but the carapace marking is quite different.

If you are keen to get to grips with genera, and have the optics for it the AIDGAP key to spider families is a useful addition to Roberts.

Cheers,
Matt

pammosley · #10 (**permalink**) 13-10-2011, 03:38 PM

Hi Matt, many thanks for the info, we do have the Aidgap key to spiders & will keep working on them. We are interested in all wildlife & plants & are not specialising in anything in particular, we just like to find out what we have seen