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Home , Araneus angulatus, Ground spider, Wolf spider

Heathland

A BACK FROM THE BRINK PROJECT WASP Common and Rare Argiope bruennichi 3 Large, up to 15 mm. Has unmistakable black, yellow spiders in the UK. and white stripes on the abdomen. The low-slung web The first two pages depict common, widespread usually has a characteristic zigzag of silk running down it. you are likely to encounter on a heathland It can be found in grassland walk, although they also occur in other habitats. and unmanaged habitats Spiders on pages three and four are largely like wasteland and road verges. Females create large, restricted to heathland habitats where, although distinctively flask-shaped egg uncommon nationally, they can be locally sacs that persist long after the abundant. adult has gone. Active from June-September. Sizes stated exclude the leg span and Active refers to the adults period only. MISSING-SECTOR ORBWEB SPIDER Zygiella atrica

4 Small, up to 6.5 mm. The Orb Web Spiders orb-web usually has a section GARDEN SPIDER diadematus missing, like a slice removed from a pie, and is constructed Large, up to 18 mm. Found 1 on bushes such as gorse, in a variety of habitats heathland pine tree trunks with enough space and and heather. Its legs are a structure to accommodate its pale brown colour with faint, characteristic web, which can darker annulations. The be up to 40 cm in diameter. oval abdomen has a dark, The legs are pale with dark oak-leaf-shaped pattern on a stripes (annulations). Although noticeably silver background. the abdomen can range in Active from August-October. background colour from yellow to dark brown it almost always has a characteristic Nurseryweb Spiders pattern of white spots which NURSERYWEB SPIDER look like a cross. Pisaura mirablis

Active from July-October. 5 Large, up to 15 mm. Constructs a domed web on vegetation as a nursey FOUR-SPOTTED ORBWEB SPIDER to house its young. Occurs Araneus quadratus in a range of open habitats 2 Large, up to 20 mm. Has a and the nursery webs can very distinctive abdominal frequently be spotted along pattern comprising four white path edges. Webs are not spots; the background colour spun to catch prey. Before can be extremely variable. building the nurseryweb, the The legs are pale with dark female can often be seen annulations. It spins a large carrying a large, white egg orb web in undisturbed sac in her jaws (). vegetation on sturdy shrubs, The legs are a uniform brown, rush, heather and gorse. and the abdomen is long Active from June-October. and tapers towards the rear. Both carapace and abdomen vary greatly in co-ordinated colours and patterns but nearly always with a pale band down the middle of the head. Active from May-September. Funnel Web Spiders Wolf Spiders HOUSE SPIDERS SAND BEAR SPIDER Eratigena spp. perita

6 Large, up to 16 mm. Some 9 Medium-sized, up to 9 mm. are familiar in our homes Wolf spiders do not spin webs but may also be found in the but catch prey using vision countryside. They have very and brute strength. Found long, unbanded legs and are in dry sandy heathland and generally dark brown in colour coastal habitats. The legs are with the abdomen marked pale with dark annulations with a lighter chevron pattern. although their general There are nine related species colouring is variable. The head in the UK, some difficult to tell ranges in colour from brown apart. Found in tree crevices to black with patches of white and unused rabbit burrows. hairs at the sides of the back Active from March-October. pair of eyes. Active from April-September. LABYRINTH SPIDER Agelena labyrinthica PIN-STRIPE WOLF SPIDERS

7 Large, up to 12 mm. Spins an monticola/Pardosa palustris extensive and conspicuous 10 Small, up to 6 mm. These web with a funnel at one species are possibly the end, low down, often in most common wolf spiders heather or gorse. The spider on heathland and in dry, generally lurks in the tunnel open habitats. Legs are pale but when it does emerge, the in colour with brown/black head has distinctive pale and mottling and streaks. The brown bands down the entire head area has a distinctive length and the abdomen has pale central band down its conspicuous, white chevrons. length hence the common Active from May-September. name of ‘pin-stripe’; the abdomen is oval. As with all other wolf spiders, the female Money Spiders can often be spotted carrying COMMON HAMMOCKWEB SPIDER an egg sac attached to the rear Linyphia triangularis of her abdomen. 8 Small, up to 6.6 mm. Belongs Active from April-September. to the largest spider family in Britain - the money spiders. Found in a variety of habitats Crab Spiders and usually seen underneath A CRAB SPIDER its densely woven horizontal Xysticus audax hammock web constructed 11 Small, up to 8mm. Found on vegetation up to 6 m above on gorse, heather and the ground. The legs are occasionally grassland. The yellow brown with obvious chevron pattern on the male’s spines. The head is a pale abdomen is distinctive. Legs I brown colour with a central and II are longer than the rear marking that looks like a two legs and bent forward like tuning fork and the abdomen a crab’s. All legs with extensive is white with a central brown, black markings. There are indented pattern. Active from twelve species of Xysticus in August-October. the UK, some difficult to tell apart. Active from April-September. The following species are designated as either Ground Spiders Nationally Scare or Nationally Rare. However, BLACK GROUND SPIDER spp. some of them can be locally common and are 14 Medium sized spiders (6 included as they are relatively easy to identify species) that use vision for and may be encountered. capturing prey and do not spin a web. These spiders Velvet Spiders favour dry habitats and can LADYBIRD SPIDER be spotted running rapidly Eresus sandaliatus in sunshine. In general, their heads and abdomens are black 12 resulted in the establishment of 18 new populations, all although their leg colour can located in Dorset. However, vary and help to distinguish until population sizes become the different species. To more robust, you are very be certain which species unlikely to encounter this is present, microscopical species in the wild! examination is essential. There are no other spiders Active from April-September. in the UK that are so black and velvety. Both immature Orbweb Spiders male and female spiders ANGULAR ORBWEB SPIDER have a black abdomen with Araneus angulatus some white hairs and four 15 Large, up to 19 mm. Has obvious indentations. The obvious ‘humps’ (tubercles) characteristic red abdomen at the front of the abdomen. of the male only occurs at Restricted to southern coastal maturity, when he emerges counties, the species favours Large spider, up to 16 mm. from the burrow to seek a deciduous woodland and spins It lives in an underground mate. Their legs are black with an orb web high up in the tree burrow on dry sandy some scattered white hair canopy. On heathland, it can heathland with lichen and and each joint is marked with be found on pines. The legs moss cover. Classed as dense white hair that suggest are pale brown in colour and Vulnerable to Extinction, the spider is wearing black the head is brown with long this spider is protected and white striped tights! The white hairs. by law under the Wildlife head area is black with some Active from May-August. & Countryside Act. scattered white hairs. Conservation efforts since Active in May-June. its rediscovery in 1979 have CARMINE ORBWEB SPIDER Cercidia prominens

Purseweb Spiders 16 Small, up to 5 mm. Spins, close PURSEWEB SPIDER to the ground, an orb-web Atypus affinis with a hole in the middle

13 Large, up to 15 mm. It lives where it sits and waits for in a tubular, soil-covered prey. Males are more likely to web, extending both above be spotted as their abdomen and below ground, and and legs are a rusty orange/ usually located on south red with a darker head area facing slopes. The only and large, dark ‘boxing glove’ spider in Britain where the palps. characteristically powerful Active from April-October. jaws act like parallel daggers, rather than converging pincers. These are as long as the rest of the head, and the area where the eyes are located is raised. The legs, head and abdomen are rather shiny in appearance and dark brown. Active from April-November. Nurseryweb Spiders Running Crab Spiders RAFT SPIDER A RUNNING CRAB SPIDER Dolomedes fimbriatus Thanatus striatus

17 One of our largest spiders, 20 Small, up to 5 mm. Possibly up to 22 mm. Associated one of the smallest running with wet acidic habitats, their crab spiders in Europe. Found feeding strategy is to sit with in both wet and dry habitats, their legs touching the surface it operates as a fast hunter on of the water, using sensory the ground surface. Its legs are hairs to detect the vibrations yellow/brown and hairy with of struggling prey. The the rear pair longer than the females construct nursery others. The head has a central webs higher up in heather or stripe with darker bands bog myrtle bushes and these both sides and the abdomen may well be spotted first. The is pale brown in colour with spider is dark brown with a dark central bands that taper yellowy stripe along the sides towards the rear. of the body. Active from April-July. Active from March-October. Running Foliage Spiders Jumping Spiders A RUNNING FOLIAGE SPIDER A Agroeca proxima Evarcha arcuata 21 Medium, up to 8 mm. The

18 Medium, 5-8 mm. Jumping biggest of this group in Britain. spiders use the large, forward- These spiders hunt at night facing eyes to accurately and do not spin webs to locate prey. Found on damper catch prey. They construct a areas of heathland. The first highly distinctive upturned two pairs of legs are chunkier wine-glass-shaped egg sac, than the others. The head is usually covered in soil/sand, brown with a metallic sheen attached to a plant stem. and with an obvious line of This is a common spider of white hairs below the eyes. In heathland and found in dry, males, the abdomen also has low vegetation, moss and a metallic-black sheen. leaf litter. Active from April-September. Active from February-November. A JUMPING SPIDER v-insignitis Wolf Spiders A 19 Small/medium, up to 7 mm. barbipes The head and abdomen are almost the same size making it 22 Large robust spider up to relatively easy to identify. The 12 mm that does not spin a species is found in open, dry, web, using instead its well- sunny heathland around the developed eyesight to find coast. The legs are yellow/ prey. There are four Alpecosa brown, thickly covered in species in Britain that are hairs and with dark markings. similar in appearance. This Both sexes have distinctive, species however, favours but different, markings. chalk grassland as well as Active in sunshine from heathland. The head has an April-August. obvious light central band and the abdomen has distinct darker lines down the middle. Active from March-October. What the project is doing.

The Ladybird Spider is one of the UK’s most To safeguard this spider for the future we need spectacular spiders, but also one of our most to continue the conservation programme. This endangered. Thought to be extinct in Britain for means monitoring the existing populations to over 70 years, it was rediscovered in 1979 at a ensure that they are healthy and self-sustaining, single site in Dorset. and maintaining targeted habitat management Since then, this population has been a donor for work. This will ensure that the introduction sites subsequent introductions, with 18 more colonies are in the right condition to enable the Ladybird successfully established through the Ladybird Spider to establish strong populations. Spider Species Recovery Programme and Back There is still a lot of work to do. from the Brink.

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Ladybird Spider sculptures at RSPB Arne. How to get involved in spider recording.

Ladybird Spider populations are rare identification. Smaller species, for example most of the and restricted, and their monitoring money spiders, are not as easy and other techniques is conducted by trained and licensed are required to identify them. individuals. Because of the spider’s Spiders can be found in almost every habitat and can extreme vulnerability to trampling of its also be active throughout the year, and so recording burrows and ground-surface webs, it is them can be a full-time pursuit. Getting out there to fully protected from disturbance under do some spider recording is one of the many outside the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act; adventures suitable for all ages and abilities. its locations remain confidential. RECORDING However, recording of other spider Find out more about spiders and other species is vital to assess their status, invertebrates at: distribution, and ecology in the UK. Some britishspiders.org.uk of our more frequently encountered ‘macro’ spiders can be identified by buglife.org.uk eye. A good field guide, habitat details Or consider buying a copy of and the time of year can aid a positive ‘Britain’s Spiders: A field guide’

26 27 About Back from the Brink.

28 29 33 Back from the Brink. One of the most ambitious conservation initiatives ever undertaken. This is the first time ever that so many conservation organisations have come together with one focus – to bring some of England’s most threatened , plants and fungi back from the brink of extinction. Natural England is working in partnership with Rethink Nature, and the entire project is made 34 possible thanks to funding from 30 the National Lottery. Find out about our other projects at: naturebftb.co.uk @naturebftb

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IMAGES: Cover Lex Peeters; 1,2, 5, 7, 9, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 22 Steven Falk; 3, 21, 24, 26, 27 Caroline Kelly; 4 Marcello Consolo; 6 Geoff Oxford; 8 H. Smith; 10, 11 Philippe Garcelon; 12 Ed Nieuwenhuys; 16 Mark Gurney; 17 Chris Spilling; 20 James K. Lindsey; 23 Gilbert Loos; 25 S. Lake; 28 Shutterstock; 29, 30, 33, 34 Ben Andrew; 31 Andy Hay; 32, Neil Hulme; 35 Ben Hall