[258] Pholcus phalangioides, Cellar Spider

[258] Pholcus phalangiodes, Cellar Spider

Introduction

Pholcus phalangioides, the Cellar Spider, is a long-legged spider native to Asia but now commonly seen in houses in Britain. To some people it is a welcome visitor as it is good at catching and eating other spiders and arthropods.

It may also be called the Long-bodied Cellar Spider, Skull Spider, Daddy Long-legs Spider or just Daddy Long-legs.

This is a classic example of the ambiguity of common names. The name Daddy Long-legs (or Longlegs) is variously used around the World. In the UK it normally means Craneflies – see [235] Nephrotoma and [342] Tipula. In general, in can also be used for Harvestmen, Opiliones, an order of eight-legged arachnids that are not classified as Spiders, or any spider in the family Pholcidae. In biology it can refer to Stylidium divaricatum, a triggerplant found in Western Australia.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Arthropods

Subphylum – Chelicerata (Arachnids and Sea Spiders)

Class – Arachnida (Eight-legged – Spiders, Harvestmen and others)

Order – Araneae (Spiders)

Suborder – Opisthothelae (All spiders except one extant family)

Infraorder – Araneomorphae (Spiders excluding Tarantulas)

Family – Pholcidae

Genus – Pholcus

Scientific Name – Pholcus phalangioides

Name

Most houses today don’t have cellars but this species prefers darkly lit corners. While all the various organisms called Daddy Longlegs are not taxonomically linked, they are similar and they do have long legs!

Pholcus is Latinized from Greek pholkos, bow-legged. The species epithet comes from Phalangioidea, a superfamily of Harvestmen, named from its type genus Phalangium. The Latin phalangium, meaning a type of spider, comes from Ancient Greek phalangion, a diminutive of phalanx, a battle array.

Description

For a spider, the body of Pholcus phalangioides is not particularly large. In homes in Britain these spiders may be less obvious than [131] the Giant House Spider or the False Widow Spiders, Steatoda.

Their legs are much longer and thinner than other spiders that you may find in the UK. Typically, the body is about eight millimetres in length, with a leg span of about 50 mm.

Females are slightly larger than males. I think this next picture was a male spider tentatively approaching a female.

Their webs are small and untidy and they will often leave the web to hunt for prey, particularly other spiders.

They may live close to others of the same species, even merging their webs a little. But in times of need both males and females may resort to cannibalism.

Habitat and use

Pholcus phalangioides is native to subtropical Asia but has spread to most of the World, where it is found almost exclusively in houses – generally in quiet, darkly lit corners.

Other Notes

Here is a Cellar Spider and its prey, photographed in my home.

The unfortunate victim is a Volucella pellucens, a close relative of [361] the Hornet Mimic Hoverfly

See also

Not closely related, but sharing the name Daddy Longlegs are the Harvestmen, Opiliones.

Taxonomically they are more closely related to mites than to spiders and scorpions, but superficially they have the same appearance with eight very long, thin legs. Whereas spiders have two body segments, generally called the cephalothorax and abdomen (but more accurately the prosoma and opisthosoma,) harvestmen appear to have just one. (There are still two segments but they are joined in an oval shape with no apparent ‘waist.’)

• Leiobunum rotundum is common and widespread throughout Britain and may be found in any undergrowth or vegetation.

• Platybunus triangularis (or Paraplatybunus triangularis or Rilaena triangularis) is another common UK species found generally in forests or among ferns.

• Dicranopalpus ramosus, originally found in Morocco, spread into and across Europe from about 1950. By 2000 it has spread as far North as Scotland. It may be found in England resting on garden walls.

[131] Eratigena atrica, Giant House Spider

[131] Eratigena atrica, Giant Hose Spider

Introduction

Eratigena atrica, the Giant House Spider, is aptly named. It’s a spider, it’s big and it’s often found in houses.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Arthropods

Subphylum – Chelicerates

Class – Arachnida

Order – Araneae (Spiders)

Suborder – Opisthothelae

Infraorder – Araneomorphae (Most spiders, excluding tarantulas)

Family – Agelinidae (Funnel Weavers)

Genus – Eratigena

Scientific Name – Eratigena atrica

This spider used to be in the genus Tegenaria but it was moved in 2005 to a new genus Eratigena. At the same time three species were moved together.

Since April 2020 the World Spider Catalogue has split the species again into three – Eratigena atrica, Eratigena duellica and Eratigena saeva.

Name

I can’t trace Tegenaria or atrica, but when the new genus took many species out its name was created as an anagram, Eratigena.

Description

Male and female have similarly marked mottled brown bodies. The female has a slightly larger body, near two centimetres in length but the male may have longer legs.

Their webs are messy (not like the neat [030] Garden Spider), without sticky threads in the corners of floors or ceilings or in other places away from humans.

They live for two or three years. Those that come out in the open in houses are usually males in search of females in late summer or early autumn.

Habitat

Eratigena atrica is found over most of Europe. Originally, its habitat was in caves or under stones in dark forests but it is now common in houses.

See also

We have one more spider coming in September.

[031] Araniella cucurbitina, Cucumber Spider

[031] Araniella cucurbitina, Cucumber Spider

Introduction

Araniella cucurbitina, the Cucumber Spider, is a small green spider named for its colour, sometimes called the Cucumber Green Spider. (It’s not the only spider sometimes called this!)

I will also consider several other spiders but my randomization process means that some more common ones will come later.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Arthropods

Class – Arachnida

Order – Araneae

Family – Araneidae

Genus – Araniella

Scientific Name – Araniella cucurbitina

This one is in the same family as [030] Garden Spider.

I will list and consider separately a few other spiders.

Cucumber Spider

After yesterday you can see that Araniella means a little spider. Cucurbita is Latin for plants in the gourd family (including cucumber)

Araniella cucurbitina is a small spider and a large part of its body has a green colour that could be associated with cucumbers.

It is widespread over nearly all of Europe and most of Asia. It is an orb-weaver like the Garden Spider and does not hide out of the way because of its camouflage.

The following random list includes some other spiders I have been able to photograph.

Amaurobius

Amaurobius ferox is a large spider, which comes from its own family, Amaurobiidae. It is found across Europe and likes dark spaces, often found indoors. It has an interesting mechanism for reproduction.

The mother lays a clutch of eggs. When they hatch, she lays another set of eggs for them to eat. Then a few days later she actively encourages her offspring to eat her.

Clubiona

Clubiona Species, also in its own family, Clubionidae (Sac Spiders) There are about thirty British species, widespread in the South of England. Generally found in leaf litter, sometimes in houses. I can’t remember where I found this one.

Nursery Web Spider

Pysaura mirabilis, the Nursery Web Spider is a member of the family Pysauridae, also called Nursery Web Spiders.

The female carries here egg sacs with her jaws and pedipalps unlike wolf spiders, which attach them to their spinnerets. Like wolf spiders, they are roaming hunters.

Philodromus

Philodromus dispar, a crab spider from the family Philodromidae, does not build a web. Found all over Europe, it’s an agile hunter that remains stationary and waits in ambush for its prey.

Steatoda

Theradiidae is a large diverse family of spiders. It includes some called Black Widow Spiders or Brown Widow Spiders, some of which have potent and dangerous bites. (The name Widow Spiders comes from the tendency of the female to eat the male after mating, which may not be much different in prevalence to spiders in general.)

Steatoda nobilis and Steatoda grossa are both sometimes found in homes and both are known as false widows because of their similarity. (S grossa is a native species. S nobilis originates from Madeira and the Canaries but has been spreading through Britain for well over a hundred years.)

Both weave an irregular web to catch their prey.

They can give a painful bite but rarely do so as they are not aggressive. Local newspapers and media frequently report scare stories about them but they are not dangerous.

This male Steatoda grossa was at one time a resident in my house.

Zebra Spider

Salticus scenicus, the Zebra Spider is a small spider, common throughout the Northern Hemisphere. From the family of jumping spiders, Salticidae, his spider gets its name comes from its stripy appearance. The Latin ‘salticus’ and Greek ‘scenicus’ mean ‘dancing’ and ‘theatrical.’

They have very good eyesight and are often found close to humans – on walls or fences or behind curtains indoors. They hunt like cats – approaching slowly and then pouncing.

Apart from the Garden Spider, they are the only spider I have seen several times outside homes

Names

I have said what I can about the specific names of species but many Scientific Names have no apparent origin.

Other Notes

All spiders can bite but they very rarely have a reason to do so. No spiders found in Britain are in any way dangerously poisonous. [Whenever the subject comes up on social media there are discussions on the precise definitions of ‘venomous’ and ‘toxic.’ But spiders won’t harm you by biting you and you won’t die from eating one.]

See also

There are several hundred species of spider found in Britain from 37 or 38 families. If you are interested you can buy Field Guides.

Two more species will come in May and September.

[030] Araneus diadematus, Garden Spider

[030] Araneus diadematus, Garden Spider

Introduction

Araneus diadematus, the Garden Spider, is a common spider often found in gardens waiting in the middle of its web.

Although it is widespread through Europe and North America, there is another species called the Garden Spider in America, so sometimes we call it the European Garden Spider to be more precise.

Its other names include diadem spider, cross spider, crowned orb-weaver, orangie and pumpkin spider. By now it should not surprise you that it is not the only pumpkin spider (but it does look a bit like a pumpkin.)

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Arthropods

Class – Arachnids (Eight-legged, mostly spiders)

Order – Araneae (Spiders)

Family – Araneidae (Orb-weavers)

Genus – Araneus

Scientific Name – Araneus diadematus

Name

There are no prizes for guessing why it is called a Garden Spider. The word ‘spider’ comes through Old English from old German roots, cognate with ‘spinner.’

The name of the Genus and its Family and Order come from the Latin for spider and the more general term for the Order, Arachnids, comes from the Ancient Greek for spider.

The name, diadem spider and diadematus in the Scientific Name refer to its appearance.

Spiders

As this is our first spider, I will give some general notes about them and will work my way down the taxonomic tree.

Arthropods are a major group at the Phylum level. They have jointed bodies and a hard cuticle or exoskeleton. They include crustaceans (lobsters, crabs, shrimp etc. and woodlice); Myriapods (millipedes and centipedes); Insects and Arachnids

The Class of Arachnids is mostly Spiders but also includes scorpions, ticks, mites, camel spiders and harvestmen, which we will not meet in this blog. [Sorry, we do have British harvestmen but they didn’t make it.]

Although there are some similarities, spiders are quite different to insects. They have eight legs and a body with just two main parts – sometimes called the cephalothorax and abdomen. Because the internal organs are shuffled round a bit, we should actually call these the prosoma and opisthoma!

They don’t have antennae but they do have a pair of chelicerae and a pair of pedipalps at the front of the head. Chelicerae are modified mouthparts which can be used to inject venom. Pedipalps have a number of functions including taste and smell and are used by male spiders in courtship and mating.

Spiders usually have eight eyes, arranged differently for each Family of spiders. They have spinnerets to produce silk and mostly catch prey to eat. Not all spiders make what we think of as spiders’ webs.

Description

I am not a great fan of spiders but Araneus diademata can be quite attractive. Its colour has a variety of shades from light brown through bright orange to a darker grey. All have the same lighter markings including an obvious cross. As is often true for spiders, the female is much larger than the male.

It is a classic orb weaver and is often seen in late summer and autumn just waiting at the centre of its circular web, woven between garden plants. When the prey flies into the web, the spider bites it to paralyze it, wraps it in silk and saves it to eat later. The header picture of this blog is not a good shot of the spider but it does show the web clearly. You may have to zoom in.

I won’t go into the courtship and mating rituals. Mating is external and the male has to be very careful. It is not unknown for the female to eat the male before, during or after mating.

Habitat

Araneus diadematus is widespread through Europe and America, common through almost all of Britain and is not restricted to gardens. They can be found almost anywhere in town or countryside. Garden flowers or other plants make useful points to attach their webs.

Other Notes

You may spot them through Summer and Autumn but they are most often seen in September and October. When they are waiting in the centre of a web, they are quite easy to photograph in close-up as long as you don’t touch the web. You may find it difficult with auto-focus, which often focuses on the background.

See also

I won’t give the game away but there are some more spiders to come. Actually, the next post will be a spider – or, to be more precise, lots of spiders …