Assumption.. arch enemy of arachnologists

MattPrince · #1 (**permalink**) 31-12-2011, 06:17 PM

Just before i start on the heavy drinking that punctuates the year.. I'd thought I'd share this warning for other novice arachnologists..
I've been getting increasingly into my spiders over the last two years, starting with admiring the ranks of araneus diadematus in the subway on the way across Exe bridges to my local gym.
I've made a few mistakes over this period..all part of the learning process, but this time, unlike previous attempts I have actually started to get to grips with the families and was feeling like I had "cracked it".

So I was chuffed to be told that the bridge spider was to be found ata footbridge near my house recently (in fact I posted a picture in spider of the day recently). That was a surprise tick near my home.

Yesterday I went to the gym, down the underpass near the river looked at the a.diadematus along the lights.... Hmmmmmm...

Just happened to have a pot and lens on me.. Yep.. first one was a bridge spider... as was the next one..and the next..29 in total!

Had been looking at them for 2 years thinking they were something else!

Matt

Jason Green · #2 (**permalink**) 31-12-2011, 07:25 PM

Just had to look that one up - Larinioides sclopetarius. A nice-looking spider that, seems like a nice find! Good to see you were prepared. You never know what you may stumble across.

Meta menardi · #3 (**permalink**) 31-12-2011, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattPrince

Yesterday I went to the gym, down the underpass near the river looked at the a.diadematus along the lights.... Hmmmmmm...

Just happened to have a pot and lens on me.. Yep.. first one was a bridge spider... as was the next one..and the next..29 in total!

Had been looking at them for 2 years thinking they were something else!

Matt

That Hmmmm is very familiar, and strangely with the same pair of spiders. You walk past orb webs every day, then one day, Hmmmmm, Lariniodes sclopetarius (and in my case, nowhere near a bridge or water). You have to look every time. Then you start to get funny looks, when someone comes into a room and you are giving the wall very close scrutiny about 3 inches away from what they see as bare wall, but you say is a spider, but it jumped off when they came near.

MattPrince · #4 (**permalink**) 02-01-2012, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meta menardi

Then you start to get funny looks, when someone comes into a room and you are giving the wall very close scrutiny about 3 inches away from what they see as bare wall, but you say is a spider, but it jumped off when they came near.

Especially when the room is a toilet

..but thanks Meta - I'm glad I'm not the only one to make the mistake - even if mine took me a *very* long time to spot. Having said that, the spiders were backlit and all that could be seen looking against the glare was biggish orb weavers with stripey legs and some sort of pale patterning on the abdomen...