Tylan Berry

They're remarkably handy

A small spider sitting hunched up on a piece of grey-brown wood, facing left. The spider has an orange cephalothorax and legs while the roundish abdomen is greyish-brown.

A small spider facing right. The spider has an orange cephalothorax with slightly paler legs while the roundish abdomen is brown. The head area is slightly raised. It has been photographed down a microscope with a bright light that intensifies the colour.

Close up of the spiders epigyne, taken down a microscope. The epigyne is the females reproductive area. There is a central whitish vertical oblong bordered either side by two dark circular areas. Above the epigyne is the base of the cephalothorax where the legs attach.

Took a spider from the cemetery home to ID. Turned out to be a Liny which I don't normally look at (too small). Surprised that it was straightforward to key out: female Gonatium rubellum. I put the live spider in a 'floating frame' to keep it still under the microscope and released her afterwards.

Excellent photos. A spider that is weirdly absent from Cornwall - possibly another indication that our woodlands are generally pretty sub-par. A really useful thing for holding spiders still under a microscope are the clear trading card sleeves made by Ultra Pro. Can even come in handy in the field.

The frames are very useful

How to make a perfect 360° ant snare whilst ensuring your dangerous prey can't get anywhere near you as you rest. Handily in a sheltered nook too, away from the last 45+ days of Cornish rain! Cryptachaea blattea are amazing - the ingenuity of Theridiids knows no bounds! @britishspiders.bsky.social

A fantastic record, I think a new one for Devon. I saw it on iRecord this morning and have verified.

Hi Tim, I'm happy that this is Anyphaena numida. That very pale carapace is quite different to the other two, and the time of maturity is a very good indicator also. It does seem to be popping up all over the south coast all of a sudden.

Absolutely critical stuff

It's never been found there before and I've been recording there for a good seven years now.

Finally! Drepanotylus uncatus from the mires at CWT Red Moor. This fills in the gap between Goss and Bodmin Moor nicely. I only ever see this species in the very wettest mires, normally in floating Sphagnum. It can be incredibly abundant in the right places in winter. @britishspiders.bsky.social

A very shaky phone video of what I think is Nigma walckenaeri on ivy yesterday in my local churchyard.
#Arachnids #spiders #luckyme

That looks very weird, not something I recognise. Will have a closer look tomorrow.

Another interesting Liny from the dying light of Halvana Plantation of a late afternoon last week. A second Cornish site for Maro minutus. This little 1mm thing is weirdly distinctive in the tray...aided very much by a head torch!! @britishspiders.bsky.social @cofnod.org.uk @graemelyons.bsky.social

Same thing happened to this little sub adult Zelotinae from Dartmoor last winter. I suspected it was Civizelotes civicus, so was rather disappointed that it didn't get to maturity. Still an interesting thing to witness though!

At the end of last year i collected a spider i was hoping to raise that all changed when this parasitic fungi took hold of it i suspect gibellula sp. Quite fasinating really.

@britishspiders.bsky.social
#gibellula #spider

This is one that I'm hoping to see in the Bodmin Moor plantations. I had lots of them in Mynudd Du Forest when I stopped on my way up to Greynog a couple of years ago.

Small, pale and interesting - Asthenargus paganus a denizen of the Spruce plantation moss floor. Couple more 🎄Welsh records to add to the UK distribution map. @britishspiders.bsky.social @tylanberry.bsky.social @graemelyons.bsky.social @chalkspring.bsky.social

I'm still a bit stunned really. Two females in the sample too!

A lovely photo of a sub-adult male Bridge Orbweb Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius)

That's it, game over. How did I miss that!?!

Happy new year to all you fellow spiderers! Didn't think I'd be seeing out 2025 with Porrhomma montanum from the deep, cold, darkness of a Bodmin Moor conifer plantation! What is this doing in Cornwall!?! @britishspiders.bsky.social @graemelyons.bsky.social @cofnod.org.uk @chalkspring.bsky.social

🧵A very happy New Year to all our followers and a gentle reminder that it's never too late to resolve to submit your #arachnid records to the GB #Spider, #Harvestman and #Pseudoscorpion Recording Schemes via our #iRecord form: irecord.org.uk/enter-srs-re.... #NewYearsResolution #MakeYourRecordsCount

I know I'm biased, but how can you beat Aulonia!?

Front view of spider showing eight eyes in two rows

Dorsal view of spider

Lateral view of spider with protruding epigyne

Dorsal view

Any suggestions for this @britishspiders.bsky.social please? From a kitchen cupboard, c. 5mm body length. The epigyne seems oddly protruded. Looks a bit like some of the larger linyphiids but not sure. Sorry for poor photos!

Yes, Megalepthyphantes. Note that "Lemmy Kilmister handlebar moustache" Mark at the anterior of tge abdomen!

Pales in comparison to @chalkspring.bsky.social's, but here's my Spider Top 10 for 2025!

I've stuck to lifers and gone for rewarding over rare. One genus will show up thrice, and I will not apologise!

@britishspiders.bsky.social @tylanberry.bsky.social @graemelyons.bsky.social

From top left to bottom right: Walckenaeria corniculans, Hyptiotes paradoxus, Cercidia prominens, Centromerus prudens, Sibianor aurocinctus, Dolomedes fimbriatus, Ozyptila claveata, Argyroneta aquatica, Dictyna pusilla, Aelurillus v-insignitus, Cicurina cicur, Donacochara speciosa

From top left to bottom right: Gnaphosa leporina, Araniella inconspicua, Arctosa lacustris, Arctosa cinerea, Tetragnatha striata,Oxyopes heterophthalmus, Thanatus striatus, Ceratinella scabrosa, Coelotes terrestris, Dipoena torva

From top left to bottom right: Saaristoa firma, Lessertia dentichelis, Araniella displicata, Leviellus stroemi, Mastigusa arietina, Clubiona subsultans, Drassyllus praeficus, Walckenaeria dysderoides, Antistea elegans

@britishspiders.bsky.social @cofnod.org.uk @graemelyons.bsky.social @tylanberry.bsky.social @snake-spider-et-al.bsky.social Some of my favourite UK finds of 2025.
Happy New Year #spiders

It's incredibly easy to find here, just vacuum any mossy tree trunk in a vaguely wooded area

One that i dont pick up that often, a Nationally Scarce species.
Picked up in West Sussex.
Monocephalus castaneipes
@britishspiders.bsky.social

Monochephalising, one might say