Black Lace Weaver

Description:

Body size Female to 16mm; male to 12mm. Appearance Vague, ghost-like pattern on the dark abdomen. The male is slimmer but otherwise similar to the female (photo). Habitat, range and season Woodland and gardens; under loose bark, stones and logs; in cellars and old rubbish dumps. Europe and N America. Adult females all year; males in spring and autumn. Web An irregular, lace-like web around a rudimentary funnel. First recorded in the UK Possibly 1678. . Bite reports 'The bite, on the palm of the hand, was very painful. There was a white patch on the bite area, and a fairly large area of reddening around it.' 'Swelling for 3 days, nausea.'

Notes:

this female was scuttling across my living room, she was quite large in comparison to the A.similis which I am more accustomed to! I put her outside as I have a young son and inquisitive feline :)