Lace Webbed Spider Amaurobius fenestralis
The species below is also called Lace Webbed Spider. It too is found on houses, but rarely inside. It can often be seen near windows, hence the Latin name Amaurobius fenestralis. Spiders often eat prey much bigger than they are. Regularly you can see small spiders wrestling with much bigger crane flies. In one of the pictures a Lace Webbed Spider is eating a Honey Bee. According to an expert the Bee probably is a Buckfast hybrid.
It is confusing, but in Britain this species and the previous one are both called the Lace Webbed Spider. Both species are similar, but usually it is possible to tell them apart. Generally Amaurobius similis is the bigger of the two, slightly lighter in colour and found inside houses regularly. Amaurobius fenestralis is often found on outside walls, but also on trees, especially under loose bark, where Amaurobius similis is very rare. Normally Amaurobius fenestralis has two or three v-shaped markings on the abdomen, where Amaurobius similis has four.
In the bottom picture a very young Lace Webbed Spider, which probably is an Amaurobius fenestralis as well, but the young of these species are rather alike, so it could be a young Amaurobius similis. It was found in February, overwintering under a flower pot.
