Eratigena sp.

Spillway, Blagdon Lake © Nigel Milbourne 2011

Here is a list of Spiders, Harvestmen and their allies recorded at the lake. The checklist follows the order given in the checklists on the British Arachnological Society website. All records are my own unless stated, so any inaccuracy is entirely down to me. If anyone has records they’d like to include, please contact me and I will insert and acknowledge them accordingly.

The BAS-branded and much anticipated new photographic field guide to British spiders, published by Princeton University Press in the very successful WILDGuides series, is nearing completion and due for publication in March 2017. This may stimulate more recording of this seriously under-recorded group.

Arachnida

Opiliones (Harvestmen)

Phalangiidae

  • Dicranopalpus ramosus (Simon, 1909), 2011 (N.R. Milbourne). Unknown.

Leiobunidae

  • Leiobunum rotundum (Latreille, 1798), 2011 (N.R. Milbourne). Common.

Araneae (Spiders)

Linyphiidae

  • Lepthyphantes minutus (Blackwall, 1833), 2013 (T. Cooper).
  • Tenuiphantes mengei (Kulczyński, 1887), 2013 (T. Cooper).
  • Neriene peltata (Wider, 1834), 2013 (T. Cooper).

Tetragnathidae

  • Tetragnatha extensa (Linnaeus, 1758), 2010 (R. Barnett).
  • Metellina mengei (Blackwall, 1869), 2013 (T. Cooper).

Araneidae

  • Larinioides cornutus (Clerck, 1757), 2019 (BDMG).

Lycosidae

  • Pardosa amentata (Clerck, 1757), 2013 (T. Cooper).
  • Pardosa hortensis (Thorell, 1872), 2013 (T. Cooper).

Pisauridae

  • Pisaura mirabilis (Clerck, 1757). Abundant. (N.R. Milbourne).

Clubionidae

  • Clubiona brevipes Blackwall, 1841, 2004 (D.J. Gibbs).

Thomisidae

  • Xysticus cristatus (Clerck, 1757), 2010 (R. Barnett).

Parasitiformes (Ticks)

Ixodidae

  • Ixodes (Ixodes) ricinus (Linnaeus, 1758) Castor Bean Tick, 2019 (BDMG).

Key to abundance:

  • Extremely rare – five or less records
  • Very rare – twenty or less records
  • Rare – less than annual; many years between records
  • Very scarce – less than annual; typically every 2 or 3 years
  • Scarce – very small numbers virtually every year
  • Uncommon – recorded in low numbers each year
  • Fairly common – occurs in reasonable numbers
  • Common – regularly occurs in good numbers
  • Abundant – occurs in large numbers

Bibliography (sources of information)

  1. British Arachnological Society website.
  2. Roberts, M.J., Collins Field Guide: Spiders of Britain & Northern Europe. 1995. HarperCollins publishers.

Last update: 13th October 2024