Araneus alsine in Glen Moriston, Inverness-shire 2010

摘要

Having found Philodromus margaritatus in Glen Moriston during 2008 and then on my local stomping ground of Dundreggan Estate in 2009 I thought my exciting 'spider experiences' would be over. However during an official Spider Survey of the Estate during the summer of 2009 carried out by Alastair Lavery, a female Araneus alsine was discovered. Feeling envious that I hadn't seen such a beautiful creature, my aim this summer was to find the spider for myself. Knowing very little about the spider other than it preferred damp, woodland clearings, I started searching on July 9th in a clearing of approx quarter of an acre, on the 10,000acre Estate with its ancient birch woodland. I found a couple of wandering male spiders which I thought looked very promising.