The Softly Singing Spider

 Cann, A. (2026) The Softly Singing Spider. British Arachnological Society Newsletter, 166, 9.

click for larger image

Contradictory spider

I recently wrote about microbiome-mediated spread of the Mirid bug Apolygus lucorum. Hot on the heels of that discovery comes another - the microbiome of the invasive Linyphiid spider Mermessus trilobatus does not contribute to its dispersal and spread. 

Complicated, isn't it? 

The Microbiome of an Invasive Spider: Reduced Bacterial Richness, but no Indication of Microbial-Mediated Dispersal Behaviour. (2025) Microbial Ecology, 88(1), 70. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00248-025-02565-6

 

The Return of Megalegs

 

On 26th January 2022 I was refurbishing a pond in my Leicester garden when I found a single female spider which, after investigation, turned out to be Megalepthyphantes sp. near collinus. Quite a mouthful that (because it still lacks a formal description and naming), so Megalegs for short. This record was a big range expansion for this new spider. And ... that was it. I have not found any more specimens, and neither has anyone else in VC55. Until, that is, Saturday 9th March 2024, when, opening my dustbin I found another female on the inside of the lid. To find one spider may be regarded as fortunate; to find two looks like there is a colony in my garden. The bin was crammed with hedge prunings from the previous day, which is where the spider must have come from. I look forward to future sightings. 

Erigonella hiemalis

I very much admire Australians - the fortitude they display when they know that spider in the bath can kill them - and what the Redback in the dunny is plotting, well that doesn't bear thinking about. In the UK things are different. Adult female Erigonella hiemalis can reach nearly 2 mm in length, although males like this one struggle to reach 1.5 mm. It's a dangerous life being a UK Arachnologist - think of the eye strain.

https://araneae.nmbe.ch/data/566