• ABOUT
  • BIRDING 2018
  • Birding 2019
  • BLOG POSTS
  • Butterflies 2018
  • Resources

earthstar

~ a celebration of nature

earthstar

Tag Archives: Philodromus spiders

S is for spiders

24 Wednesday Dec 2025

Posted by sconzani in spiders

≈ Comments Off on S is for spiders

Tags

Agalenatea redii, Agelena labyrinthica, Anyphaena accentuata, British spiders, Cheiracanthium erraticum, Eratigena species, Larinioides cornutus, Larinioides sclopetarius, Metellina segmentata, Pardosa species, Philodromus spiders, Platnickina tincta, Segestria florentina, spider, Steatoda nobilis, Zygiella x-notata

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.

Like this:

Like Loading…

Spiders: Philodromus species

06 Tuesday May 2025

Posted by sconzani in spiders

≈ Comments Off on Spiders: Philodromus species

Tags

British spiders, Philodromidae, Philodromus spiders, running crab spiders

When I got my new guide book*, I very naively assumed it would help me identify all the spiders I saw. I should have known from tackling all the other types of creatures I’ve been trying to put names to that nothing is ever that easy.

These three spiders are a case in point. They all belong to the Philodromidae, the running crab spiders, of which, in Britain, there are 17 eight-eyed species in four genera.

Though they share a similar crab-like body structure, the three shown here all look quite different to my eye, and I thought I would be able to identify them but no! Highlighted in red in my book are those words I never like to read: ‘Microscopic examination of the genitalia is necessary to confirm identification of all species in these genera.’

* Lawrence Bee, Geoff Oxford and Helen Smith, Britain’s Spiders: a field guide, 2nd ed., Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2020.

Like this:

Like Loading…

About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

View Full Profile →

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent blog posts

  • Only two bugs 10 August 2026
  • A summer of Clouded yellows 9 August 2026
  • Pilates for herons? 8 August 2026
  • Rust: Puccinia convolvuli 7 August 2026
  • A Jersey tiger summer 6 August 2026

From the archives

COPYRIGHT

Unless otherwise acknowledged, the text and photographs on this blog are my own and are subject to international copyright. Nothing may be downloaded or copied without my permission.

Fellow Earth Stars!

  • atanabalan
  • Luigi Spadorcia
  • supernaturallyd92135e67a
  • UK Safari
  • Hannes
  • aykutatila
  • Alison Moya
  • The Michael Jackson Debate
  • Farida
  • Caleb Cheruiyot
  • 大阪のうめ吉
  • scotishhobbit
  • Boys Will Be Boys Michael Jackson
  • goateeironb98ef7f4ba
  • klindajames
  • Ric Holmes Wheelbuilding
  • shillingt
  • Vito Prasad
  • Jillian
  • joyfullycreation4f2bcb3356
  • Louis Spadorcia
  • Penny Bowers
  • The New Renaissance Mindset
  • Fatima
  • Strivemindz
  • Daniel Greenwood
  • Robert Galpin
  • Matthew James
  • toure16
  • lleuadwr
  • evie h
  • Jean Reiland
  • FrankieWoodknob
  • Kana Smith
  • famous65e373e926
  • Rr
  • MalcolmSafechuck
  • shannon
  • Maria Vincent Robinson
  • MLLESHOPPING
  • boruma1977
  • debbiestevens084bd32238
  • shankar019
  • Tammie Rogers
  • Geraldine Hughes
  • Bob Ramsak
  • fadingfun2d25f7d4de
  • Danny @ DGPIX
  • Michael Jackson Facts
  • moll3

Powered by WordPress.com.

Loading Comments...
%d