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Seeking summer spiders

Stephanie Chadwick

Summer is a great time to go spider spotting, in your garden, green space, and around your home

With around 680 different species in the UK, spiders are possibly the most overlooked and maligned invertebrates that share our gardens, green spaces and, frequently, our homes. 

At the recent Festival of Nature wild weekend event in Bristol, I had lots of interesting conversations about butterflies, beetles, and bees. However, there was very little appetite for chatting about spiders. Maybe it’s time to whip out a hand lens and take a closer look at some of the amazing species that have important roles in our ecosystem and are easier to spot.

June is a great month to go spider spotting. Warmer, longer days mean that spiders are more active and hopefully have a good supply of insects to keep them well fed. Spiders have an important role in keeping many of the pest species, such as flies and mosquitoes, under control in our gardens and, if we leave them alone, our homes.

Garden Spider

Garden Spider ©David Longshaw

A garden spider (Araneus diadematus) recently created a huge web in my garden, between the wall of the house and the garden fence. No-one shall pass! 

These are the most common of the orbweb spiders and are instantly recognised by the colourful patterns of pale and white spots on their abdomen, often sitting in the centre of their impressive webs that can stretch to 40cm in diameter. 

Colouring does vary, with males usually yellow-brown and the larger females a much darker brown that highlights the distinct markings on the abdomen.

Zebra Spider

Zebra Spider ©Bruce Shortland

If you’d prefer to look for something a little smaller but with bags of character, zebra spiders (Salticus scenicus) are quirky members of the jumping spider family. In summer months, they can be found on paving, fences and walls enjoying the sun’s rays. 

Rather than spinning webs, the zebra spider stalks and leaps on its prey, jumping up to 10cm, over 14 times its own body length.

As their common name suggests, they have a distinctive black and white patterning that can be seen with the naked eye (even though they are quite small at between 5 and 7 mm). To add to their quirkiness, males attract females through a complex courtship dance, moving around the females with their legs waving in the air. 

Nursery Web Spider

Nursery Web Spider ©David Longshaw

While we often associate spider webs with catching prey, most spiders have other uses for their webs. The nurseryweb spider (Pisaura mirabilis) creates a tent-like web which, as its name describes, it uses to protect its young as they emerge from the egg sac.

This distinctive spider can be found in gardens, grassland areas or in woodland with open canopy. You may see them sitting on leaves to warm up in the sun. 

woodlouse spider on a thin branch

© Vaughn Matthews

The species that originally piqued my interest in finding out more about spiders is the woodlouse spider (Dysdera crocata). 

These formidable looking spiders are deep red, including the legs, and feed on woodlice. We have lots of dead wood in our garden which attracts lots of woodlice, making it the perfect habitat for the woodlouse spider. 

My first sighting was actually in the house, and I was amazed at its red colouring. A little bit of detective work in the garden uncovered more of them lurking between paving slabs, which helped with identification.

When you’re spending time in nature over the next few weeks, keep an eye out for our summer spiders. 

Identifying spiders

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