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Whilst tidying the garden last Saturday this I uncovered this very mean looking arachnid. I am not overly keen on spiders and this one looked particularly fierce I have seen these before but this one seemed to be an unusually large example, can someone identify it please

Looks like a female Steatoda grossa to me but may be s. bipnctata or nobilis. Can bite so I personally would avoid handling.

Phil

I would say bipunctata, you can just about make the white stripe down the back in the first picture. and according to the Natural history museum website "This is an entirely harmless species and is not implicated in bites"

Chris

Hi Chris & Phil

Thanks for the id suggestions They all seem to be quite variable in their appearance so I am still not sure which one it is. It was particularly large, larger than the sizes given for all of these species. I did not measure it, but my finger is there for scale. I would say it had a leg span of 40-50mm, but I am not sure of the accepted way of measuring a spider. I certainly would not have contemplated picking it up irrespective of it being harmless. My friends and family find it quite amusing that I don't like spiders, considering my other interests

according to Roberts field guide female (which yours is) bipunctata 4.5-7mm, measurements I believe are taken nose to tail shall we say. doesn't include legs at all. yours looks gravid, so could be why she looks bigger.

Chris