Tuesday 9 November 2010

Wasp Spider.

These large, and very beautiful, Wasp Spiders are not uncommon in the garden; this female above I found whilst trimming some Ivy. What I've not seen before, however, is the accompanying walnut-sized striped 'egg sack'. It's HUGE.

I understand that Wasp Spiders, especially the males, can give a nasty bite, but they're not venomous. Several friends who are normally a bit iffy about spiders have found them to be fascinating. Maybe the Wasp Spider is the answer to arachnophobia.

It's not easy to measure spiders, but this one (from front to back legs) was about 3.5 inches.

I've just noticed that there are several egg sacks dotted around in the ivy. Are we about to have a Wasp Spider population explosion?

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7 comments:

  1. That's the BIGGEST egg sack I've EVER seen!! She is quite lovely.

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  2. You know, she is really striking, but I'm getting the heebie jeebies just looking at that egg sack. It's massive!

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  3. I really do try not to dislike spiders ( I think Charlotte, all that other good stuff)...but they make my skin crawl.

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  4. No spiders, please. Thank you.

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  5. Well she is lovely and imagine the thousands of babies that will arrive,the thing is they will all have a job.many will feed other insects and they themeves will keep something else at a managable level...nature sure is an amazing wonderous thing.Carole

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  6. Have never come across wasp spiders before! Wouldn't relish being bitten by this one either!

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