Black lace weaver spider, Amaurobius ferox
Body size
Female to 16mm; male to 12mm.
Appearance
Vague, ghost-like pattern on the dark abdomen. The male is slimmer but otherwise similar to the female (photo).
Habitat, range and season
Woodland and gardens; under loose bark, stones and logs; in cellars and old rubbish dumps. Europe and N America. Adult females all year; males in spring and autumn.
Web
An irregular, lace-like web around a rudimentary funnel.
First recorded in the UK
Possibly 1678.
Bite reports
'The bite, on the palm of the hand, was very painful. There was a white patch on the bite area, and a fairly large area of reddening around it.'
'Swelling for 3 days, nausea.'
