A Request For Specimens of Large House Spiders

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SteveMcBill
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A Request For Specimens of Large House Spiders

Post by SteveMcBill »

A Request For Specimens of Large House Spiders:

I am keen to examine large house spider material from many areas of Britain which are currently unmapped (especially County Durham, Tyne and Wear, Scotland and Ireland - much of Cheshire and Lancashire remains unmapped). This is to work out the distribution of both Tegenaria saeva and Tegenaria gigantea and also of the hybrid between the two species. Currently T.saeva seems to reside on the West of Britain and T.gigantea on the East with hybrids existing in a vertical strip up through the Midlands.

Because identification of juveniles is not possible I would prefer live spiders that can, if necessary, be reared to maturity. These should be sent in individual containers (e.g. half a toilet roll tube sealed at the ends) punctured with a few small holes and containing a scrap of damp, not wet, tissue. Pack the tube(s) in a crush-proof container and post to: Geoff Oxford, Department of Biology (Area 14), University of York, Wentworth Way, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD.

Please supply your name and address, and for each individual spider write on its container the date found, the address and/or post-code where it was found, the situation in which it was found (e.g. inside house, in a garden shed, etc., etc.) and, if possible, a 6-figure (or better) map Grid Reference. It may also be possible to identify dead, dried individuals. ALL material will be acknowledged and postage costs reimbursed.

Thank you.

Geoff Oxford

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