Records for Wales are still relatively few so it will be great to have this on iRecord. Spider records submitted there get verified and onto the national Spider Recording Scheme Atlas faster if you use our scheme from at irecord.org.uk/enter-srs-re...

Hi Kieran, great photos of the palps … well done! A perfect match for Wasp Spider (Argiope bruennichi) … this photo from Pierre Oger’s site at arachno.piwigo.com/picture?/121...

That's right - another indicator, although it's not definitive, is that the spots are usually smaller or absent in latimana. This species is increasing its range, including in E. Anglia:

Thanks, Stuart. The ID looks good (adult female) so please submit via the Spider recording Scheme iRecord form at irecord.org.uk/enter-srs-re.... First recorded 20 years ago, this species seems to be spreading within Kent:

That looks like a new hectad for Nigma walckenaeri- please do iRecord via the SRS form at irecord.org.uk/enter-srs-re... to add to the map:

Always stunning - and having an exceptional year. Please do record them via the national recording scheme form at irecord.org.uk/enter-srs-re... to contribute to our understanding of their rapidly changing distribution and abundance.

The hedgerows and grassy banks (of East Anglia at least) are full of Labyrinth Spider webs at present. Normally the spiders dart back in to their retreats if they see you, but occasionally you may spot a couple mating and they're easier to photopgraph.

The last of the 3 talks that followed our AGM was on the charismatic cave spiders (genus Meta) and was delivered by Dr Thomas Hesselberg of Oxford University. He was also elected as a new ordinary member of BAS Council. Link youtu.be/ljREHGXKiHI?...

The second of the talks following our AGM was given by Rosy Christopher @envirosyment.bsky.social of Newcastle University. Titled Friend, Foe or Freeloader, it considered the relationship between Flower Crab Spiders (Misumena vatia) and the flowers it sits on. Available at youtu.be/Gada2vNhF7w?...

The BAS held its AGM on Saturday, which was followed by talks on an arachnid theme. The first of these was by Brandon Collier of the University of Galway on the Urban Ecology of the Noble False Widow (Steatoda nobilis). It can be watched from our YouTube channel at youtu.be/FUqSYllcw9A?...

2/2 To listen to our AGM talks visit our YouTube channel @BritishArachnologicalSociety Brandon Collier- Urban Ecology of Steatoda nobilis in Ireland Rosy Christopher- Friend, Foe or Freeloader Thomas Hesselberg- Thriving in the dark: the fascinating behaviour of cave orb spiders #spiders #arachnids

1/2 Here's one for Rosy Christopher @envirosyment.bsky.social who gave 1 of 3 great talks at our AGM yesterday. To contribute your observations to Rosy's Spider Spies PhD project on commensalism and Flower Crab Spiders Misumena vatia, visit foragingecology.com/spider-spies/ .....

Great photo thanks, Rory. I'm sure people get tired of us saying this but please do record it on our iRecord form at irecord.org.uk/enter-srs-re.... Every record always counts and, in this case, we don't have any record in Norwich:

Porrhoclubiona genevensis is a smart-looking member of the Clubionidae (sac spiders). In the UK, records of it are few and come from grassland and heaths of rocky coastal areas, such as Cornwall, Scilly Isles and Welsh islands. P. genevensis can be found by looking amongst scree and under stones.

Your ID is correct. There are no other species in UK remotely similar. It is a species whose range is expanding northwards … and rather quickly. Looks like there’s a few records up in Yorkshire

Apologies to all users of our new online Atlas for the current intermittent access issues. Our hosts at CEH are working hard to resolve them.

Yes, that's right. They do lethargy, so it's probably fine! If you use iRecord please do record it on our recording scheme form at irecord.org.uk/enter-srs-re.... Records in the West Midlands are still a bit patchy:

Adult Nursery Web spiders, in their various patterns and colours, can be seen throughout the UK at present. They live in a variety of habitats but perhaps the best place to find them is amongst banks of bramble, nettles and other tall plants. Later, watch out for females carrying their egg sacs.

Amongst other spiders found were Zelotes electus, Hypsosinga albovittata, Asagena phalerata, talavera aequipes

This week a small team of BAS members searched for spiders at Wangford Warren in Suffolk (permission from @suffolkwildlife.bsky.social), a breckland site. We recorded several uncommon species, some typical of bare or sandy soils. Shown are Steatoda albomaculata, Thanatus striatus, Euophrys frontalis

Synema globosum, AKA Napoleon Crab Spider after the Napoleon's hat marking on the abdomen, is a common grassland species in central and, particularly, southern Europe. It's also worth looking out for in GB where we've had scattered records since 2003.

John, this looks like an immature male - small, with annulated legs and, I think, a hint of swelling at the end of the palps? It also fits with their phenology, with May and June as the peak adult seasons. Always much less frequently seen than the females, so a good observation, thank you!

Calositticus caricis is a small jumping spider that lives amongst low vegetation in marshland / fenland. Although it can be found at several widely-separated sites in the UK it is not a common species, and its population seems to have undergone a significant decline over recent decades.

Our new Atlas of UK spider, harvestmen and pseudoscorpion records is now online at britishspiders.org.uk/atlas. It gives access to 1.6 million records and is constantly updated with data submitted and verified via irecord.org.uk/enter-srs-records.

I think Andrew is right - it's quite a variable species although not commonly recorded along the S Wales coast. Please do record via the Spider Recording cheme iRecord form to contribute to the map: irecord.org.uk/enter-srs-records

Keep an eye open now for Agalenatea redii, the Gorse Orb Weaver. Gorse is a good place to find it but it can also be found in other bushes, heather, grass, and on fences etc. Like many others in the family Araneidae, A. redii is variable in appearance, and has several strikingly different forms.

Smart little spiders from your oddly isolated Edinburgh population, thank you! Please do iRecord them via the SRS form at irecord.org.uk/enter-srs-re... so that they contribute to our understanding of the species #phenology and habitat as well as distribution.

Tim, I suspect you are correct with Anyphaena numida but as it hasn’t been recorded in Devon previously, your local recorder @tylanberry.bsky.social may want to see a specimen. Maps below show current records of A. numida and A. sabina

As a final example a rare habitat with a unique set of spiders, many of them threatened, coast cliff top grasslands are being lost to encroaching scrub, invasive non-native plants and tourism pressures. #RedList assessments for species like these are essential first steps in their conservation.

Coastal and inland sand dunes (for example in the Brecks of East Anglia) have long been under pressure from tourism, development and aggregate extraction. On the coast, the increasing pace of sea level rise, coastal erosion and realignment projects add to these threats.