Tag Archives: Cheiracanthium erraticum

S is for spiders

24 Wednesday Dec 2025

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What a fabulous year this has been for new spider sightings, mostly inspired by the new spider guide book I bought with the financial support my local biodiversity records centre provides to its recorders. (I hope they’re pleased with the new records I’ve now provided.)

The image above is one of my new finds, Platnickina tincta (Spider: Platnickina tincta, 21 February), though this particular specimen was found very recently, on 14 December, on my local park railings. If you’re an arachnophile, you might enjoy perusing my list of this year’s finds; if not, I will completely understand if you prefer simply to scroll on. This year’s blogs: Spider: Steatoda nobilis, 25 March; Spider: Zygiella x-notata, 31 March; Spider: Larinioides cornutus, 7 April; Spiders: Philodromus species, 6 May; Spider: Segestria florentina, 21 May; Spider: Cheiracanthium erraticum, 31 May; Spider: Anyphaena accentuata, 4 June; Spider: Pardosa species, 11 June; Spider: Agelena labyrinthica, 9 July; Spider: Agalenatea redii, 9 September; Spider: Metellina segmentata, 20 September; Spider: Eratigena species, 13 October; and Spider: Larinioides sclopetarius, 28 October.

Spider: Cheiracanthium erraticum

31 Saturday May 2025

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Having first been recorded here in 1861, this spider is a relative newcomer to Britain and, though it is still most frequently seen in southeastern England, it is slowly expanding its range north and west. I found this one at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, not because I was looking for it, but simply because I noticed something had spun a web to bind two or three reed seedheads together and wondered what it was.

The adult spider was visible inside, and my photos were clear enough to see the distinctive red stripe that runs within a broader band of cream down the centre of its abdomen, which helped confirm this as Cheiracanthium erraticum. It favours grassland, more particularly areas of heathland, where it is typically found in low vegetation.