The Lyons Share

This time I actually mean the gents at work, not the nature reserve. I have been observing this creepy Cobweb Spider Pholcus phalangioides that hangs motionless upside down, for hours if not weeks, in the corner of the toilet above the door. I thought it was about time I got a photo. This is a spider and not a harvestman and can be identified by the long ghostly legs, small cephalothorax (that is meant to look like a human skull!) and long thin abdomen. If you get too close, they vibrate a bit but that is about it (they are usually in corners - there is no where for them to run to!). They are very sedate spiders but I think they're creepy though. I see them in nearly every building in Sussex but they must be a southern species as I never saw a single one until I left Staffordshire.

This synanthropic species is a successful hunter despite its slow demeanor. It snares prey with silk and then pulls it in with it's long legs before administering the venom.

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