Nurseryweb Spider

Nurseryweb Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)

When it comes to spiders, I'm a bit of a weenie; I've been a serious spiderphobe for as long as I can remember. I'm trying hard to conquer my fears, though, and one of the things we did recently to help was purchase a copy of Britain's Spiders. Our thought was that if I learned a bit more about them, maybe I'd come to appreciate them, and wouldn't have to whistle the Spiderman theme song (Mike's cue to come and rescue an 8-legged intruder) quite so often. Today, while I was mooching around the garden, I spotted this one doing a bit of sunbathing on a leaf low along one of our hedges. A quick look in the book turned up its ID. It's a Nurseryweb Spider (Pisaura mirabilis), the only member of its genus in Britain. (There are others elsewhere in the Palearctic.) The sexes are similar in appearance and size, so I'm not sure if this is a male or a female. Apparently, this species is extremely variable in colour and pattern, but always shows that wavy-edged stripe down the middle of its back. The book specifically mentions it sunbathing with its first and second sets of legs outstretched and held together — how's that for an ID feature?!

The spider gets its name from its parenting style. The female carries her egg-sac full of unhatched spiderlings around under her body. Once they've hatched, she deposits them in a tent-like web she's made in low vegetation, and guards the outside for several days, until they're ready to be on their own. Nurseryweb Spiders are common and widespread across much of England and Wales in a variety of habitats. Interestingly, they're the only spider species in Britain where the male presents the female with a wrapped "present" (aka a meal) before mating — presumably as a distraction to avoid being eaten himself!