A WORLD WIDE

The wolf spider gets its name from its hunting technique… it scuttles along the ground and pounces on its prey just like its canine namesake. Wolf spiders are fairly hairy with patterns of dark grey, brown and black. In warm weather you might see them sunbathing!

This is our most common orb web spider and is plentiful across the country. You can spot it sitting in the middle of its web as it waits for the vibrations caused by prey landing in its sticky threads. Female garden spiders are

twice the size of males.

The lace web can be found outdoors, making its home in holes in garden walls, fences and similar tubular nooks. It gets its name from its lacy web, which is sticky and woolly-looking, with extremely fine fibres. This species can give humans a painful bite if it feels threatened. You might see these spindly spiders – sometimes called daddy long-legs – on the ceiling in the corners of your room.

Their wispy webs look messy but are actually really effective at trapping prey, including fruit flies, mosquitos and other insects.

With a leg span of up to 7.5cm, these fast-andfriendly giants spin sheet-like webs indoors but, if they don’t catch anything, they can survive for months without eating or drinking.

At the opposite end of the scale is the tiny, shiny black money spider, which superstition says will bring you wealth if it lands on you. They get around by ‘ballooning’ – letting out a strand of silk which is caught by the wind, lifting them into the air.