Esmond Brown

It's a spider (Thomisus onustus) – gets my vote every time

Wow, what a stare!

Your male looks mature to me - the palps are quite discreet in this genus. Look for a tibial apophysis - it's not present in immatures

Brilliant effort! What a wonderful way to go about it too!

Looked again. TMI & IV are roughly 0.4

2-2-2-2, I can't see any metatarsal trichbothria on I or IV

Sodom and Gomorrah had higher moral standards than USA

Mystery Linyphiidae found under a plant pot in a UK harden centre. 2-2-2-2 tibial spine count, 1.5mm body length

@britishspiders.bsky.social @cofnod.org.uk @tylanberry.bsky.social @graemelyons.bsky.social Looking for help with identifying this 1.5mm Liny, please. Found in a garden centre so might not be on the British list, but I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction

What British PM would?

No. They're not even thinking about themselves

Are you working your way through the alphabet?

Superb find! A great way to finish

Disco Doris has to be your best-named find of the year. I'm trying to imagine the underwater dance you did when you discovered it!

My top ten highlights of 2025! What a difficult year it was to rank these, there were so many amazing moments!
analternativenaturalhistoryofsussex.blogspot.com/2026/01/my-t...

I'm always slightly worried about walking on the beach at Charmouth. The cliffs above have been different on every visit. Beaminster is one of those English place names that I'm sure I pronounce incorrectly

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

Premature coleslaw

Birbs!

Merry Christmas, Anke and kiddo

I heard he shut his mouth just right, at least once #bubba

Yes, I've got at least one species which wasn't in time to make the list

I don't think Alastair is on here, but I'll thank him nevertheless, and, of course, everyone who helped him put it together.
PS. I much prefer the new order of families and species

That's Clubiona corticalis

Psocoptera nymph, I think

We have Dipoena torva here – the males have a cephalothorax a little bit like this. Also have a look at Argyrodes argyrodes, from southern Europe – both are Theridiidae

My local farmshop produces a rosemary-infused rapeseed oil, which is very good for roasties

Despite their bright colours, they are surprisingly well camouflaged. It's a skill to 'get your eye in' and spot them. I often notice the stabilimentum on the web first

Ozyptila brevipes

Ozyptila claveata

as is Ozyptila brevipes. Ozyptila claveata is probably a first find in Buckinghamshire for 30 years and highlights the great work done in restoring the chalk grassland habitat at Grangelands nature reserve by @bbowt.bsky.social

Gnaphosa leporina, a Ground Spider in the family Gnaphosidae

Thanatus striatus, Philodromidae

@britishspiders.bsky.social Very happy to still be finding new spiders as we approach the end of the year: Gnaphosa leporina has been high on my wanted list, since Lawrence Bee found it locally during a survey in 2019. Thanatus striatus, is, I believe, a first for Buckinghamshire,

It's common here (in South Bucks), to the point of distraction – almost everywhere where fallen leaves gather. I'm sure I've missed the much more scarce Walckenaeria obtusa on occasions due to their superficial similarity