A roll of the dice: the unnatural history of large house spiders (Tegenaria: Agelenidae) in the British Isles

摘要

It is often the case that we know much less about the biology of common and widespread species than rarer ones. Grants are more readily available for research on the ecological requirements of rare species of conservation concern, in order to save dwindling populations. It might also be assumed that for common species, being common, we know all there is to know already. This is seldom true. Here I discuss research conducted at the University of York over the past 35 years on a very frequently encountered guild of large house spider species, the Tegenaria atrica group1 (Plate la, centre pages). These spiders are the scourge of all arachnophobes; yet dig deeper and the subjects of their fear reveal intriguing patterns of distribution and recent rangeexpansions. They are also providing insights into aspects of interspecific interactions, which could determine the species' evolutionary futures.