Couple of Goodies ......

An area for archived forum posts
Post Reply
anno
Posts: 178
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 9:50 am
Location: Penketh

Couple of Goodies ......

Post by anno »

Couple of Goodies ......:

Just received confirmation on two spiders from my mentor at the BAS - Pseudeuophrys lanigera, a jumping spider with a Northern spread which was in my bathroom at home and more interesting for me, another Argyroneta aquatica - the Water Spider from a site in Runcorn - I quote:

'Argyroneta, by its lifestyle, is difficult to sample and therefore sporadic in its records. If you could record when and where you find these, whether specifically targeted or as by-catch for newts, this could be a great contribution to the understanding of the north-west distribution of this species.'

This shows the importance of recording, having watched this species over the years in a number of local sites. It is a revelation to find out that it is under-recorded; it is also a fairly easy (!) species to identify - if it comes from the depths and shows clusters of thick hairs on the 4th legs it is probably this species ;)

Anno


Image
SteveMcBill
Posts: 809
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 9:15 am
Location: Runcorn, Cheshire
Contact:

Re: Couple of Goodies ......

Post by SteveMcBill »

Anno,

When trapping for newts and undertaking general pond survey work (especially around Manchester Airport Runway 2) I occasionally came across Water Spider (Argyroneta aquatica).

All of those records should be in the rECOrd database. Not sure whether the Spider records in rECOrd have been sent to the Spider Recording Scheme - perhaps it would be worth asking Eric and also the Cheshire County Spider Recorder - John McGaw !!!

Cheers

Steve

anno
Posts: 178
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 9:50 am
Location: Penketh

Re: Couple of Goodies ......

Post by anno »

Yes to all that, however I am not sure that we have a Cheshire County Spider Recorder anymore - BAS have the post as 'vacant' - maybe John could confirm otherwise?

I think the point that I was getting across was that we under-record these beasties, and a lot of us may come across them looking for other things, we all have our little obsessions :)

By the way I am now having second thoughts - I think it could be a Pirata lycosid (wolf spider) species!!! - so any pointers grateful deadly received ;)

Anno

SteveMcBill
Posts: 809
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 9:15 am
Location: Runcorn, Cheshire
Contact:

Re: Couple of Goodies ......

Post by SteveMcBill »

Yes, I am certain that freshwater ecologists such as Andy Harmer MUST come across Water Spider (Argyroneta aquatica) fairly frequently when undertaking surveys in the County and its surrounding areas.

Probably worth approaching such people to ensure the records get into the database at rECOrd and thence to the Spider Recording Scheme.

Steve

johnmcgaw
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 9:50 am

Re: Couple of Goodies ......

Post by johnmcgaw »

Some time ago I contacted the organiser of the National Spider Recording Scheme (SRS) to offer my services as the VC58 spider recorder and at the same time submitted an exported excel file of ~60 spider records entered in RODIS as an example of the 'data format' I would be offering.

Key points arising from the very comprehensive reply to my offer were:-

-BAS/SRS has developed their recording scheme with a major aim being to collect specific types of ecological and phenological information as part of the recording of spiders.
-Mapmate is the only recording software that accommodates the SRS broad habitat and site based features that are required.
-Exported data from RODIS is inadequate, does not provide the data that the SRS wishes to record, except in the crudest form, and could not be used in any data analysis at a national level.

There are more issues involving verification that should also be examined as well.

Full details of the response from the BAS/SRS organiser were sent to rECOrd at the time for consideration.

Water spider - could well be a Pirata lycosid but would need a much closer look to be sure.
They frequently skim over the water at pond edges and are easily trapped in nets.

John

Post Reply