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A VERY RARE SPIDER IN EPPING FOREST
In June this year I collected twomales of an attractive spider Theridion pinastri from Leyton Flats. I
returned for another visit about two weeks later and found another male togetherwith two females, oneof
which later laid an egg sac in captivity. David Carr, a very active member of the Essex Spider Group then
sent me a male that he had collected at another site in Epping Forest further north at Lippitts Hill.
The spider is extremely rare in Britain, known previously only fromamaletakenatChobham Common,
Surrey in 1977, a female at the same locality in 1984 and then a male taken at Headley Heath, Surrey and
a female at Burnham Beeches both in 1991. The six Epping Forest specimens therefore represent a total
number more than all the previous finds put together and are a cl ear indication of an established population
in the area.
It is of considerable interest that all our specimens were taken from the lower branches of oak since it has
previously been assumed that the spider's main habitat could turn out to be pine trees, which do not seem
to be present in the vicinity. Although parts of Epping Forest have been reasonably well recorded for
spiders, this does not to my knowledge include Leyton Flats or Lippitts Hill. However it is possible that
the recent consecutive hot summers and mild winters have enabled the species to increase its population
levels so that we have now been able to detect its presence, but I doubt whether the spider will turn out to
be common in the county as a whole. Oak trees in many parts of the county and at the right time of year
have been investigated for their spider fauna, and other species such as the crab spider Philodromus
praedatus, formerly thought to be very rare in Britain, have been found to be widespread in Essex.
Peter Harvey
ANOTHER RARE SPIDER - CAN YOU HELP?
In the autumn a small (about 5mm) green spider called Nigma walckenaeria mature. In Britain it is
apparently more or less confined to the Thames Valley area. It has been found in a number of places in the
London area, but is also found commonly in Grays and as far east as Southend-on-Sea and Battlesbridge.
It has also been found in Colchester and this suggests that the spider could be much more widespread in
the county.
The spider is often found in gardens and parks
where it chooses leaves with a concave upper
surface across which it makes a small web. It then
sits between the top of the leaf and the underneath
the web. Leaves of lilac, forsythia and holly are
particularly favoured but any leaf with a suitable
architecture will be used.
If you see a small green spider in the autumn I would
be very grateful if you would send it to me wi th
details of where it was found. The spider could be
sent with its leaf inside e.g. a matchbox or small
plastic container. I will gladly refund postage and let
you know if the spider is indeed the rare Nigma
walckenaeri.
Peter Harvey 9 Kent Road, Grays, Essex, RM 17
6DE