Spiders in the Oonopidae, Pholcidae, Agelenidae and Atypidae families

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Oonopidae family

On the left is Oonops domesticus, there are only two spiders in this family in the UK, this one which is generally found indoors, and Oonops pulcher which is generally found outside. Both look rather similar being small, between 1-2 mm long. The abdomen ranges from yellow, orange, red or pink, with a tan or brownish prosoma. They have just 6 eyes and no epigyne. Both sexes are similar.

Although they are found widely in the UK and Europe, they are rarely seen because of their small size, and also because they are active at night. They have a characteristic way of moving - they seem to slide slowly over the surface, and then move so speedily that you lose sight of them. They lay just 2 eggs at a time in a silken cell.

Pholcidae family

Left is a mature male Pholcus phalangioides (daddy-long-legs spider). There are 350 species in this family world wide. Most of them live in tropical caves. When they are disturbed they vibrate their web making themselves appear blurred and difficult to catch. It is easy to see this one is a mature male as his palps are swollen so that they look a little like boxing gloves. The palps of the male act as secondary sex organs. The sperm is formed in the testes which are located in the abdomen. The fluid spermatozoa comes out of a very inconspicuous opening onto the web. The male then draws up the fluid into the palp, probably by capillary action. And it is the palp that is inserted into the female's epigyne during mating. It is the male who searches for the female, so it is more common to find wandering mature males than females. They have a potent, fast-acting poison enabling them to quickly immobilise prey item much larger than themselves.

Pholcus phalangioides is a very distinctive spider with its long legs. This one was found crawling over the wall. In the UK they tend to be found indoors or in cellars as far north as Dundee. The males mature in spring and summer. The mature female carries her egg sac around with her in her jaws. The young may swarm out of the egg sac and over her head. And when they leave the egg sac for good they cling to her fangs and head.

Atypidae family, purse web spiders

These spiders are commonly known as the purse web spiders, but the web is actually a long, narrow tube. The entrance is usually camouflaged with small pieces of earth. When prey steps on to the entrance, the spider grabs it and hauls it into the tube. Only males and spiderlings can be seen outside the tube - males to seek a mate, and spiderlings when they disperse to start their own home. In the U. K. individuals take around 4 years to reach maturity. Mating takes place in the autumn inside the tube and both male and female will live together for a few months until the male dies, and only then does the female eat him. The spiderlings hatch in the summer and disperse the following spring. On the left is Atypus.

Agelenidae family.

The general body shape (minus the legs) is shown in the drawing on the left. They have closely-woven webs with a silken tunnel or funnel attached where the spider rests and the female keeps her egg sac. The spider below left is a mature female Tegenaria sp., as her body was at least 2 cm I would guess that she is Tegenaria parietina. Tegenaria can have a leg-span of over 10 cm, though it is the males which have the really long legs. She had made her web inside a metal shed, and when I found her had grown too big to escape from the shed. She seemed quite happy living off a steady diet of insects though. Tegenaria are the big hairy spiders we commonly find wandering round out houses in autumn. Although we usually find males (right) as the females tend to stay on their webs. The males look very similar to the females except they are a few mm smaller in the body, have a thinner abdomen, longer legs and usually have swollen palps (see the photographs below right) as they are in search of a mate. Below left you can just make out the sclerotised entrance to the female's epigyne, this is the opening into which the male must place one of his sperm-charged palps. After a successful mating the males will usually live beside the females for a while, but die before winter, this provides the female with a substantial meal to see her through cold weather. Tegenaria can live for several years especially if they are in a sheltered location such as a house or closed metal shed. The webs can be pretty untidy, and often have a tubular retreat. On the left the female is on her web, note the long palps, these are always in contact with the web to detect any vibration indicating the presence of a possible snack. The spiderlings normally disperse without eating their mother.

The photographs on the right show a mature male Tegenaria duellica. Their body length is 10 - 14 mm long, and is slimmer than the females, although their legs are longer. Males mature in the late summer and autumn, and it is this time that you are most likely to find one wandering around your house. He is just looking for a mate. They are fairly widespread in Britain. They are found indoors, in outbuildings or sheltered walls in the north, but can survive outdoors in the south.

In 1760 when malaria, also known as ague, was common in Britain a Dr. Watson recommended a Tegenaria sp. "gently bruised and wrapped up in a raisin or spread upon bread and butter" as a cure !

In France Tegenaria sp. are released into wine cellars as the presence of their webs is though to create feeling of age.

In 1936 a policeman on point duty on Lambeth Bridge in London held up traffic to allow a particularly large Tegenaria parietina to cross the road.