Philodromus dispar, Running Crab Spider

Common Name: Running Crab Spider

Philodromus dispar is widespread in much of the southern half of Britain, with records petering out the further north and west you go. It is found in a variety of wooded habitats including broad-leaved, mixed and coniferised woods, thickets, hedgerows, scrub, gardens and it sometimes comes into houses - indeed the male in the photo above was discovered walking across the work surface in my kitchen in late February, which is a very early sighting for the species.

It can be swept from woodland herbage and the lower branches of trees and bushes. The spider appears to over-winter in litter, especially in leaf litter and the litter which accumulates at the bottom of hedgerows, in tree boles and at the base of branches. Adults of both sexes are found mainly in early summer, females occasionally persisting into the autumn and winter.

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