There are over 650 species of spider within the UK, and although many may find spiders unappealing or even frightening, they are fascinating in their own right. While many spiders are present throughout the year, autumn is the best time to see them outdoors.
Identifying spiders can often be difficult, as they are very small, elusive, and many species resemble one another. The colouration and pattern of a spider can be a useful way to identify them, as well as other key features such as the structure of their webs. In some cases, it is necessary to take a closer look at the genitalia under a microscope, as this can be the only way to confidently identify certain species. You can also use your location as a clue, as some species are more likely to be found in certain parts of the UK.
To survey for spiders, you can search by eye or you can use equipment such as a sweep net or a sampling tray, and a hand lens can help you pick out features on smaller species. There are also lots of field guides and books available for more information on different types of spiders.
In this article, we’ll show you several fairly common species that you may find in your garden or local green space.
Garden Spider or Cross Orbweaver (Araneus diadematus)
Distribution: Common and widespread
What to look for: These spiders are greyish-brown or reddish-brown with a white pattern across their back that resembles a cross. They can also sometimes be bright orange. They have striped legs, and females are twice the size of males.
Noble False Widow (Steatoda nobilis)
Distribution: Widespread across southern England, with their range increasing northwards
What to look for: This species can be confused with many other UK species. Their body is dark brown, with variable patterns on their abdomen. Usually cream and dark brown marks that can sometimes resemble a skull.
Did you know? This is a non-native species in the UK and was thought to be introduced in the late 1800s. Despite many rumours, bites from this species are rare, usually occurring when the spider is disturbed. The bites have been compared to a wasp sting, however guidance should be sort if you are concerned about a bite.
Common Candy-Striped Spider (Enoplognatha ovata)
Distribution: Occurs throughout the UK
What to look for: The common candy-striped spider has several colour variations. Their abdomen usually has a pale creamish-white background. The pattern on it can be bright pinkish-purple in a V shape pointing towards the head, a solid pinkish-purple triangle, black lines that can be either thick or thin, or a variation of black marks and spots. Their cephalothorax (fused head and thorax) is a pale yellow colour, with a dark line down the middle, and their legs are also a similar pale yellow. In the field, it is incredibly difficult to distinguish this species from a similar species, the scarce candy-striped spider (Enoplognatha latimana). Confirmation of the species usually requires examination under a microscope.
Goldenrod (Flower) Crab Spider (Misumena vatia)
Distribution: Common in southern UK
What to look for: The goldenrod crab spider has some colour variation, appearing white, yellow or green, They often have red lines on either side of their abdomen. Their abdomen is bulbous and their front legs have a crab-like appearance, hence their name. The female is much larger than the male.
Did you know? This species can change its body colour to match its background! It takes a few days to occur, but it helps to disguise the spider as they sit and wait for their prey to land near them.
Zebra Jumping Spider (Salticus scenicus)
Distribution: Widespread
What to look for: The zebra jumping spider can grow up to 8mm, which is surprisingly large for a jumping spider, and they can jump an impressive 10cm. As their name suggests, they have a black and white striped pattern, but it can be hard to tell them apart from similar species of jumping spider. They are usually found on walls, rocks, or tree trunks.
Cucumber Green Spider (Araniella cucurbitina)
Distribution: Occur throughout the UK
What to look for: Around 4-6mm long, this small spider has a bright yellowish-green abdomen and a pinkish cephalothorax. They also have small black spots along their abdomen. They are very similar to another cucumber spider A. opisthographa, but it can be difficult to tell them apart in the field.
Labyrinth Spider (Agelena labyrinthica)
Distribution: Widespread in southern England, as well as in Wales
What to look for: The labyrinth spider can grow quite large, up to 18mm long. They create long, funnel-shaped webs in long grass and hedgerows. Their abdomen has a pale brown stripe with darker bands on either side, and these bands have several paler chevron markings through them. Their cephalothorax also has a pale brown stripe, with an orange-brown band on either side, and their legs are orange-brown with paler hairs.
Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)
Distribution: Widespread across most of the UK, although less frequent in the north
What to look for: The nursery web spider is quite variable in colour, and can have a grey, dark brown, or yellow-orange body. They have a slender, pointed abdomen, with two dark brown lines running from the spinnerets (silk-spinning organs) all the way to the front of the cephalothorax. They also have pale tear-shaped marks next to their eyes.
Useful books and equipment
Britain’s Spiders: A Field Guide
Now in a comprehensively revised and updated new edition, Britain’s Spiders is a guide to all 38 British families, focussing on spiders that can be identified in the field. Illustrated with photographs, it is designed to be accessible to a wide audience, including those new to spider identification.
Pocket Guide to British Spiders
Featuring 130 of the most common and readily identifiable species, this illustrated pocket book is the ideal comparison for anyone interested in the naturally occurring spiders found in the British Isles.
Collins Field Guide to the Spiders of Britain and Northern Europe
This major identification guide to 450 species of spider is designed for easy use. Each species is described in detail and illustrated in colour, including common colour variants and differences between the sexes.
A Guide to House and Garden Spiders
Of the 33 spider families represented in Britain, 21 are featured in this chart. The guide includes colour illustrations and a table with identification features, habitat and methods of prey capture for the 40 spiders featured in the chart.
Harvestman of the British Isles
A fully up to date second edition, covering all 34 species that have been recorded in the wild in Britain and Ireland. There are photographs of each species, with separate photos for males and females, and a comprehensive identification table.
A clear plastic pot with a snap on magnifying lid with x3.5 magnification, ideal for viewing pond life and terrestrial invertebrates up close.
The pooter is a classic piece of entomological equipment, enabling the capture of small or delicate invertebrates without the risk of damaging them or losing them in the undergrowth. It consists of a transparent plastic collecting jar with a lid containing two holes, one of which has a fine mesh covering.
These scissor action Bug Tongs are the perfect way for children to collect larger insects and bugs which cannot easily be caught using a pooter.
Opticron Hand Lens 23mm 10x Magnification
This Opticron Hand Lens contains a high quality 23mm doublet lens, made of glass and provides excellent distortion-free magnification. The 10x magnification is recommended for general observations and this magnifier is the one most commonly recommended for all types of fieldwork.
Acoustic detection is a popular and widespread method of environmental assessment, and its use is increasing, driven by the development of increasingly accessible and sophisticated detection devices. 
This field guide includes beautiful illustrations displaying key features to help with identification. It covers flight season, life cycle, larval foodplants, habitat and more, along with maps presenting distribution information.
natural world and to human society. With an expert eye, Goulson skillfully guides the reader through different aspects of their importance, from the multi-million pound service that dung beetles provide the farming industry each year in the UK alone to the vital role that pollinators play in underpinning ecosystems across the planet, and the value that insects have in their own right as beautiful, vibrant denizens of our planet. The author’s passion is infectious; it is difficult to read this section without becoming invested in the wondrous ranks of the planet’s invertebrates, making the threat of their decline feel all the more personal. 
controversial among some parties. He consistently highlights the arguments of his critics, treating them with respect and validation. At some points he provides his rebuttal while at others he admits to the shortcomings of the relevant research, explaining why a different approach was impossible at the time. This is indicative of an attitude that permeates the book – the issues that he writes about are bigger than minor gripes with experimental methodologies, bigger than business margins or political leanings. He presents with a neutral eye the irrefutable reality that insects are vanishing at a terrifying rate, and unless action is taken the world is heading towards a very real disaster within generations. Though frequently distressing and at times heartbreaking, Goulson writes with a voice compelling and just witty enough to prevent the reader from becoming despondent. This book is not intended to drive us to despair, but to action. 
encouraging native plants in our towns and cities and overhauling the way in which we view farming. Finally, there is an extensive list of actions, large and small, that people can take, listed by occupation. This section is what the book has been building to, and it is worth reading for this alone. As usual, respect is paid to all viewpoints and all members of society. It doesn’t matter whether the reader is in a position where a free-range organic, locally sourced diet is financially viable or not – there will be other actions that they can take regardless of financial matters. Nor does it matter if they have beliefs, political or economic, that might conflict with the author’s. It is a call for society to overlook such matters which are, in the face of such a crisis, trivial. 
Could you tell us about how you first came to be interested in the natural world?
The reality is very anti-social working hours, high levels of frustration and a huge impact on home life! But I wouldn’t change it for the world as it is undoubtedly one of the most soul-nourishing jobs you could ever hope to do, in my opinion. It’s a tough, highly competitive industry, but this doesn’t mean you can’t get in through gentle persistence and dedication. Knowledge is everything: read, watch and learn everything you possibly can about your chosen wildlife subject before even attempting to film it.
Here we review the Anabat Scout from Titley Scientific. The Scout is an easy to use active bat detector that offers excellent quality live audio and recording, plus many handy surveying features and durability that sets it apart from other detectors. It uses heterodyne, auto-heterodyne and frequency division audio that can be recorded in either full spectrum or zero crossing files.
Much of the information comes from my readings or lectures. However, since I wanted to portray the ecological and economic importance of forest insects as broadly as possible, I still had to review a lot of published material. Above all, I wanted to support quantitative data with accurate citations. Owing to the Internet, such research is easier today than it was 20 years ago… Fortunately, I also had my own photographs on almost all topics.
Professionally, I am mainly concerned with wood-dwelling insects. I am especially interested in the bark beetles, and their natural enemies as well as the intensive interactions with their host trees. Bark beetles are known to be pests, but they are also pioneers in the decay of wood. I also deal with the wood-dwelling longhorn beetles and jewel beetles, which often lend themselves to photography because of their size and beauty. For decades I have dealt with the development of their biodiversity after disruptive events such as storms or fire. The social red wood ants or the galling insects also fascinate me with their ingenious way of life.
There are two main causes for the decline in much of the forest insect fauna. The intensive use of wood in the past centuries has led to the fact that the forest area in Europe has decreased significantly over a long period of time, the trees no longer reach their natural age phase, and there were almost no dead trees that could slowly rot. In the case of many wood-dwelling insects that are dependent on so-called habitat trees or develop in decayed, thick tree trunks, this has led to a severe threat to their biodiversity. In recent decades, the forest area has increased again and in many countries the preservation of old trees and dead wood is being promoted. However, the impact is still modest.
The main problem when photographing small objects is always to be able to focus as much as possible on them. This requires a small aperture and therefore a lot of light. I photograph everything “hand-held” and therefore the shutter speed should be short. For these reasons, I almost always use a ring flash with separately controllable halves and 100 mm macro lens with my SLR camera. Nonetheless, even cameras with a small sensor (even mobile phones!) can nowadays produce surprisingly good images of larger, less volatile insects.