Image gallery (scroll down for more images) |
||
Homepage What's new? Biology Distribution Identification Conservation Genetic Study Literature Links How you can help Picture Gallery Contact Us |
© Helen Smith adult D. plantarius eating a spider, eating a damselfly! © Helen Smith adult D. plantarius © Helen Smith pregnant female D. plantarius © David Hoskin Juvenile D. plantarius in its second year © Paul Jones first year juvenile D. plantarius © Paul Jones female D. plantarius carrying her egg sac a typical D. plantarius nursery web at Redgrave and Lopham Fen, located in Cladium mariscus, high above the water at the margin of a peat pool female D. plantarius guarding her nursery: strands of the web extend beyond the edges of this picture At Redgrave and Lopham Fen D. plantarius is confined to deep pools left by peat-digging in the 19th and early 20th Centuries dense beds of saw-sedge Cladium mariscus surrounding the pools are mown on a traditional 4-year rotation. Clumps at the pool margins are left uncut as refuges for the spiders. © Arthur Rivett Typical Dolomedes plantarius habitat on the Pevensey Levels grazing marshes in Sussex. The spiders live amongst the marginal emergent vegetation. The floating rosettes of water soldier Stratiotes aloides are favoured for nursery web construction. the Tennant Canal next to Pant-y-Sais NNR, home to Dolomedes plantarius in South Wales. Pirata hygrophilus: the Pirata species are easily confused with Dolomedes plantarius and D. fimbriatus © Neal Pearson a particularly boldly marked Pirata (possibly P. piraticus) Females in the genus Pirata carry their young on their backs Females in the genus Pirata carry their egg sacs at back of their bodies, held in their spinners Pisuara mirablis is the only other British spider in the same family as Dolomedes plantarius and D. fimbriatus. This common grassland species also builds and guards nursery webs. A ball of spiderlings can be seen in front of the empty egg sac at the top left hand corner of this web. |
|
HOMEPAGE This site is maintained by Helen Smith |