Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 95 (2002), pp. 269-73 



Spiders of the Genus Philodromus (Araneae) in 

 Wiltshire 



by Martin Askins 



Spiders of the genus Philodromus are described and information provided on the seven species occurring 

 in Wiltshire. This updates the data published in the Provisional Atlas of British Spiders, 2002. 



Eleven species of the spider genus Philodromus are 

 known to occur in the UK, of which seven have 

 been recorded in Wiltshire, namely Philodromus 

 albidus, P. aureolus, P. cespitum, P. collinus, P. 

 dispar, P. margaritatus and P. praedatus. Whilst 

 contributing to the National Spider Recording 

 Scheme, which recently published its Provisional 

 Atlas of British Spiders, (Harvey,P.R., Nellist, D.R. 

 and Telfer, M. eds., 2002) I have been collecting 

 records for spiders in Wiltshire. The present note 

 updates the data contained in the Provisional Atlas, 

 reviews the status of these species and describes 

 their currently known distributions specifically with 

 respect to Wiltshire. Since the data were submitted 

 to the Provisional Atlas recording in the county 

 has continued . However, North Wiltshire has more 

 records at the moment than South and this should 

 be borne in mind when interpreting the 

 accompanying distribution maps. 



The Philodromids are 'crab' spiders, so called 

 because the two front pairs of legs are held splayed 

 out sideways in an almost 'pincer-like' fashion. 

 However, though they were once included in the 

 Thomisidae, the Philodromidae are not 'classic' 

 crab spiders and the front legs, though longer, are 

 not more robust than the rear pairs (Fig. 1). The 

 Wiltshire Philodromids, with one slight exception, 

 are all foliage dwelling and are generally found in 

 the leaves and canopy of shrubs and trees. The 

 exception is P. margaritatus, which is a bark dweller. 

 Rather than constructing webs to catch their prey, 

 they actively hunt or wait in ambush. All are spring 



Fig. 1. Male of Philodromus cespitum 



maturing, with activity generally peaking in June 

 when mating occurs. As with many spiders, the 

 males mature slightly earlier in the year than the 

 females. The female lays and then guards the egg 

 sac, though she is fairly easily disturbed, and the 

 spiderlings hatch and feed up over the summer 

 months before over-wintering as immatures. 



P. albidus Kulczynski, 1911 



National status: Nationally scarce, Notable B. (The 

 national status of the more uncommon species is 

 taken from Merrett, P., 1990. These may be revised 

 in the light of the results of the National Recording 

 scheme.) This species has a southern bias to its 

 distribution. 



69 Savill Crescent, Wroughton, Swindon SN4 9JG. 



