Two Woolly Jumpers

There is a thriving population of the small jumping spider Pseudeuophrys lanigera in my office building at University, which, with its species name meaning 'woolly' I think it deserves the common name of woolly jumper. I spotted one on the windowsill as I was going to close the blinds, and then another one descended from a thread of silk and ended up near the first one. Both were males and, after some swaggering and lifting of the front legs, one of them, the newcomer, retreated and followed on his way. It is the females that truly look 'woolly'. Males are very colourful, with dark and large front legs, red markings around the eyes and white moustaches and palps. These spiders are found on and inside buildings. They must consume minute prey, such as bark lice, springtails or small flies, although jumping spiders are able to tackle prey their own size. The adults can be found year round, although their peak season is June for females and September for males.

The smaller spider number 1, who held his ground.

The newcomer.

Agelenidae: funnel weaver spiders

The agelenidae comprises 11 species in three genera, the best known, Tegenaria, or house spiders, includes several species difficult to identify without microscopic examination, and some that hybridise, further complicating identification. They weave sheet webs ending in a funnel. The spiders of this family, in particular house spiders appear to elicit fear or disgust in many people. Even William Bristowe, passionate arachnologist, confessed his 'horror' of the house spiders. The male's habit of rapidly running across the floor in the night, or appearing in the bath in the morning doesn't gain them any friends. Their amazingly long, hairy legs and large size doesn't make them endearing either. 

Males on the prowl

Tegenaria males mature in summer and autumn at two years of age and it is at this time of the year that them, which would have been living unobtrusively, in the corner of a room or behind a counter in the kitchen, leave their webs in search of females. They are most likely to be encountered then, either running across the floor a night or, in the morning, having fell into a bath from which they cannot escape. When a male meets an immature female he will stay on her web, waiting for her to mature and eventually mating with her. She accepts the male in her web and after more mating, the male will die.

A male Tegenaria sp. in the bath.

A Tegenaria moving across the floor.

Maternal spider

Female Tegenaria will lay several batches of eggs in spring in eggs sacs decorated with soil, debris or remains of prey. The spiderlings remain on their mothers web for a few weeks until ready to disperse. Read more about this topic in this post at Bugblog.

A female Tegenaria by her sheet web.

Tegenaria on her sheet web on ivy. I enticed her out of her retreat with some water spray.

A male Tegenaria, probably a T. gigantea x saeva hybrid. Males are slimmer and have longer legs than females. The modified male palps, used during mating, are visible in this photo and in the top photo of the same male.

Male mouse spider

As I lifted a towel from the kitchen floor, a male Mouse Spider, Scotophaeus blackwalli, ran out. He was quickly potted and had a brief session in the white bowl. These spiders are usually cooperative, and they freeze for a while when disturbed, which is enough for me. This is the time of the year when Mouse Spiders are mature and look for potential mates and I wonder if that's what this male was doing. These spiders are strongly associated to humans, and are mostly found in or around buildings, sheds and gardens, which suggests they have expanded from a more southern origin. Scotophaeus males only have slightly enlarged palps compared to other spiders, but they are still thicker than the female's, this and the very narrow abdomen of the male helps distinguish the sexes.