Wandering male lace weavers

In the last week I have found two different males Amaurobius similis wandering, one in the porch and the other in the house. Note the different abdominal pattern in the photos below, especially the dark blotches surrounding the cardiac mark (the midline elongated area over the abdomen). In this species, mature males are most likely to be found between September and November, and they abandon their webs in search of the female retreats. I released them both after taking their photo paying especial attention to the palp (above), which is diagnostic and separates this species from the similar one A. fenestralis. Males A. similis have an inward pointing, curved sharp projection on its palp, which in A. fenestralis is thicker and blunt.

Male 10/11/15.

Male 15/11/15.