Zygiella x-notata

False widow spider(?) was walking on my desk as I was feeding the ants. It caught this cricket before I could. Impressive as there was no web for it catch it with. Must have been hungry. I'll let her finish her food before I put her back outside!

comments (2)

WildFlower

Lion

I think it is Zygiella x-notata.
http://www.eakringbirds.com/eakringbirds3/arachnidssteatodaidentification.htm
http://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/zygiella-x-notata Posted 7 years ago
1. Stuart
  
  Lion
  
  That's great - thank you very much for identifying. I've adopted her as a pet - it's too cold to put her outside at the moment so she has a deluxe residence at the moment :)
  
  If only I'd have seen the web as the ID guide on the eakringbirds.com site you kindly posted above is pretty easy to follow and instantly discounts my initial thoughts of this species:
  
  'Identification .. The fact that Zygiella x-notata spins an orb web, should immediately rule out both Steatoda species, but this spider is still the most likely to be mis-identified and wrongly mistaken for Steatoda nobilis, despite being much smaller. As it is so common, familiarisation of the abdominal markings is easy and should be learned.' Posted 7 years ago, modified 7 years ago