Goldenrod Spider (Misumena vatia) – I see the female plenty of times around the garden, but hardly ever the male. This one must have been real hungry perched on the edge of a petal trying to grab passing flies.
© Peter Hillman ♦ 20th May 2018 ♦ Rear garden, Staffordshire ♦ Nikon D7200
Pseudeuophrys lanigera – Me and Mike Powell (you should really go and check out his fabulous blog ‘My Journey Through Photography’ right now!) We know some folk get a little creeped out by these things … but who could fail to be moved by the cute little puppy dog eyes on this very small jumping spider? Double-click images if you really want to.
© Peter Hillman ♦ 18th May 2018 ♦ Living room ceiling, Staffordshire ♦ Nikon D7200
Wolf Spider (Pardosa sp.) – These furry critters just love to hang around in the sun. Lots of these around at the moment. Double-click image to get even closer … if you really wanna.
© Peter Hillman ♦ 27th March 2020 ♦ Rear garden, Staffordshire ♦ Nikon D7200
Araneus diadematus – This was a relatively small Garden Spider which was hanging around on a fence panel at the bottom of the garden. I am always taken by the intricacy of their webs, but it looks like this one has had one or two problems. Double-click image for a closer look.
© Peter Hillman ♦ 21st June 2019 ♦ Back garden, Staffordshire ♦ Nikon D7200
Wolf Spider (Pardosa sp) female with spiderlings. They always like to warm themselves on my decking. Now you know want I’m going say next, don’t you? It’s about double-clicking … if you wanna get closer … but you don’t have to … maybe this is close enough?
Copyright: Peter Hillman
Camera used: Nikon D7200
Date taken: 16th June 2019
Place: Rear garden, Staffordshire
This is but a small plant pot, and I know you may think this odd, but I just grow a clump of moss in it all year round and nothing more. It appears to attract some varied wildlife (especially if you lift it up and look underneath it) and this Philodromus sp. crab spider was one of them. I spotted it yesterday whilst working the garden, and it appeared to be in a bit of a state of confusion, poor thing, as it kept going round and around the top edge of the pot.
Double click if you wanna get closer…
October 2019 © Pete Hillman.
I was photographing another species of spider on a plant pot (a lot seems to happen on this plant pot for some reason?) and this one came along. I think it is a young Clubiona sp. and it was so small it was getting lost amongst the moss leaves.
The darn thing would not keep still hence it is not as sharp as I would like.
Double click if you wanna get closer…
October 2019 © Pete Hillman.
Philodromus sp. Rear garden. September 2019 © Pete Hillman.
Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus) September 2019 © Pete Hillman.
… not really … just the Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus)
Yep … if you really, really wanna … feel free to click on the image to enlarge and click again to get even … (deep scary voice here) … closer …
July 2019, rear garden, South Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
I found this little Clubiona sp. of spider under my green recycling bin hatch.
Oh … do not click twice on the top full face image unless you really want this nice spider right in ‘your’ face ….
July 2019, rear garden, South Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
These Zebra Spider (Salticus scenicus), always appear to be quite territorial, and I only ever see them around the outside of my shed and garage. And boy do these little jumping spiders jump!
Feel free to click to enlarge and click again to get even closer on the images …
July 2019, rear garden, South Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
This mighty female crab spider (Misumena vatia) grabs itself a nice bee for lunch and these three little freeloader flies want their piece of it as well.
Feel free to click to enlarge and click again to get even closer … only if you really want to.
July 2019, local field, South Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
I have never seen anything quite like this before. A butterfly snared by a crab spider.
Feel free to click to enlarge and click again to get even closer.
July 2019, local field, South Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
Click and click again on the image to get that little bit closer … only if you want to look her in her many eyes!
This is the crab spider Misumena vatia, and a lovely female on the edge of one of my flowerpots.
June 2019, rear garden, South Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
It is quite amazing what you can find by lifting a leaf in the backyard and looking hard. This tiny little Snout Mite scurried about in circles and was hell to try and photo before it disappeared down a crack in a wall. This was the best image I got, and how strange it is. It belongs to a family called Bdellidae which are amongst the first mites ever to be described. They are predatory mites which feed on other arthropods, and inhabit soil, leaf litter and leaves. They come under the same class as spiders – Arachnida – for they have eight legs, and the order Trombidiidae – mites. You can see how tiny it is for it has one leg on some dried snail excrement. Talk about putting your foot in it!
Click and click again on the image to get that little bit closer …
June 2019, rear garden, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
Now this little spider wasn’t in the green recyling bin, but on the wall of my study. I took it outside to take some snaps. It is one of the ‘Jumping Spiders’, and do they jump!
Click and click again on the images to get that little bit closer …
May 2019, rear garden, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
It’s quite amazing what you can find in your green recycle bin at times. I found this male Candy Stripe Spider Enoplognatha sp. form lineata clinging to the underside of the lid.
May 2019, rear garden, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
This is a female Wolf Spider with her eggsac Pardosa sp. We were kind of playing hide and see for a while as I tried to photograph her sunning herself.
Mind you I suppose I would object if I had a giant lens thrust into my face whilst I was sunbathing.
Click and click again on the images to get that little bit closer … if you dare …
May 2019, rear garden, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
Hairy legs and hairy leaves, this is where Pardosa sp (possibly Pardosa amentata the Spotted Wolf Spider) meets Bugle Ajuga reptans. This is the darker male of the spider species, and you can just about make out its large dark palps at the front. I see a lot of these at the bottom of the garden this time of the year and throughout the summer months.
Click and click again on the image to get that little bit closer if you wish …
April 2019, rear garden, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
Click once to expand view, click again to get that little bit closer
Nursery Web Spider Pisaura mirabilis, May 2018, local field margin, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman
This is a Long-jawed Orb-weaver Spider Tetragnatha sp. stretched along one of the stalks of my iris which is growing in the garden pond. It apparently somehow knows that the iris is flowering and attracting airborn insects. No doubt, in due course, it will spin a web to attempt to catch them.
Click once to expand view, click again to get that little bit closer
May 2018, garden pond, rear garden, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman Sigma 18-300mm.
I found this lovely on my living room ceiling. It is a species of running crab spider, and a male, and oh boy do they run fast!
It is normally found on the lower branches of trees and shrubs in wooded areas, but it is also found in gardens and occasionally indoors. The sexes vary quite differently, hence the scientific name. It is quite common in Southern Britain.
Click once to expand view, click again to get that little bit closer
May 2018, photos taken in rear garden, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman
First time I have found one of these Jumping Spiders in my house. I took him outside where he very briefly struck this pose for my macro lens.
Zebra Spider Salticus scenicus May 2018, rear garden, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman
This is one of the False Widow Spiders, the Rabbit Hutch Spider Steatoda bipunctata, for it is commonly found near or in human habitation such as outbuildings or sheds. They are called False Widow Spiders for they are commonly mistaken for the real thing which are not found in the UK, unless accidentally imported, which is rare.
I found this one in a sack of potatoes which I had been keeping in the garage.
May 2018, rear garden, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman
Finally this Jumping Spider Sitticus pubescens sits long enough, maybe curious about what I was up to, to strike a pose for my camera giving me the ‘goggle-eyed’ look these critters are famous for. It caught me without my converter, but still gave me a reasonably good show before jumping off and away.
May 2018, rear garden, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman
This small yet bulbous-bodied spider was found under the lid of my green recycling bin. It is generally found in and around buildings, and has got quite a distinctive zig-zaggy median band. It is common and widespread in much of England.
The pose below is its defensive posture. They do not like been blown on, and will sometimes adopt this position and stay still for a short while, otherwise they are on the move all the time until they find shelter.
April 2018, rear garden, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman
This was quite a nice spring surprise at the start of April. I like how variable the patterning and the colouring can be on these spiders.
It belongs to a family called Pisauridae, and there are only 2 British genera.
April 2018, rear garden, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman
This is one of the smallest spiders in the genus, and the first time I have seen it here. It is typically found on the lower branches of broadleaved trees, in woodland clearings and margins. It is very similar to P. rufus, but P. rufus is seen much further south than here.
April 2018, rear garden, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman
This little spider with a pretty pattern and colour was peering through my study window this morning. It is usually found on low vegetation, shrubs, and the lower branches of trees.
It often occurs in the webs of other small spiders, feeding on them or the prewrapped parcels of food found there.
It is common and widespread throughout southern and central England.
April 2018, front garden, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman
This has to be the smallest spider I have ever encountered. I found it on my bathroom wall early this morning, and it is called Oonops domesticus also known as the Goblin Spider. It was so small and delicate I had to use toilet paper to catch it, believe it or not. They only grow 1-2mm (0.08in) long. For such a small creature it moved very rapidly and was hard to keep track of. After taking these photos I lost it under the kitchen table somewhere, and I doubt I will ever find it again. Because it was raining I had shaped a leaf to fit the bottom of a small pot so I could contain it and get a natural setting for the photo, and took the images on my kitchen table.
It belongs to a family of spiders called Oonipidae, of which there is one genus, and 2 British species. Oonops pulcher is the other species, and is generally found under bark, stones and leaves, where Oonops domesticus is found in buildings. To accurately identify them you would need a microscope, although Oonops domesticus has five tibial spine pairs where Oonops pulcher has four, and they do live in distinctly different habitats.
It has six tightly clustered eyes, and is a creeping, stealthy hunter of small invertebrates, interspersed with rapid movement. It apparently gently strokes its prey with outstretched legs before darting forward and biting it. Because of its size and nocturnal habit it usually goes unnoticed in houses, and is probably under recorded. During the day it remains hidden in a silken cell behind furniture or in cracks in woodwork. It is widely scattered and uncommon in England.
April 2018, disovered in house, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman
The weather has vastly improved these past days here, and spring is in full swing with sunshine and higher temperatures, yet all the spiders appear to like coming indoors? I have found several different species over the past few days inside the house. This one Cucumber Green Spider Araniella cucurbitina sensu lato is a tiny spiderling which I found on my dining room ceiling, most likely carried into the house on hair or clothing, or even blown in by the wind.
April 2018, disovered in house, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman
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