Spider Mother - Tube Web Spider

This spider was guarding an egg sack (see second photo). I turned over a large pot and found her inside, surrounded by her webbing.

Of course I wanted to use the pot.. so I did the soft thing and turned it back over again. I'll just have to find something else to put my plants in.
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I just found info on the Tube Web Spider, and think that that is what this is. Per The Natural History Museum, :
Body size =Female to 22 mm; male to 15 mm.
Originally a native of southern Europe as far east as Georgia. Known as a 'tube-web', it occupies a hole or crevice and has trip-lines radiating out. First recorded in the UK 1845. Colonies remained local (usually close to southern ports) until the 1990's when a considerable expansion began."

ugh.
Nice captures. Well done

I tweeked what I thiught was a dead flower head in a web and millien of spiders shot out all over the web. I won't do that in a hurry again

Oh, I think that they are beautiful creatures, in fact I was thinking of getting this enlarged for my wall. I wish that I could have got a more complete photo of her, but couldn't without disturbing her.
I am happy to handle most, although with ones like this I always worry that they will bite. It won't be lethal but I do tend to react badly to any normally innocuous bites... not dangerously, just itchy and swollen!

Were you thinking of nailing her to the wall or flatning her on it?

The reddish squashy one do bite andit stings but doesn't harm.

ROFL... I'll tell the spider you said that ;)

aww. she might cry if you do and make you wall paper soggy. :-rofl

I just read on the National History site "It may come as a surprise that a dozen or more spider species resident in the UK are capable of causing a significant bite.". See - I'm not being overly careful :)

I would't touch a spider they all bite,I put a glass over it and slide a piece of card under and put it ousid.
Most can't open there jaws far enough to bite a human but yes there are some nasty ones about