Yesterday was rather exciting as lazy bank holiday Mondays go in the Garden. For us it was the day the rare spider called Cryptachaea blattea came to visit. Well, probably! We did attempt to get consensus from a Spider ID group but there is a chance this could be a different species called Parasteatoda tepidariorum, which isn’t especially common either. However we believe it was the former which is a species introduced from Africa to Europe, as well as other parts of the world.
See our species account HERE. These guys are tiny, think money spider and your in the right ball park. The field guide Britain’s Spiders *1 marks this species as extremely rare but it’s not long been on these shores as the link above explains, and is likely still spreading.
It just goes to show. Keep looking for long enough and even rare species will pop up in the most unlikely places, including our towns and cities and if you’re lucky your own back yard.
DC: 30/05/2023
- Bee, L & Oxford G & Smith H. (2020) Britain’s Spiders: A field Guide. Second edition. Oxfordshire: Princeton University Press
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