Stone Spider

Although the rain lashed down again this morning, the front passed by leaving a sky full of striking cloud formations and a little sun this evening. The nights are drawing in so early now and it won't be long until they ruin my evenings totally by changing the clocks.

As promised, the dogs got their long walk. I took them onto the heath where the heather is now over but the colour of the spent flowers is still intense. Just before we went I decided to shake out a door mat. This Stone Spider, Drassodes lapidosus, had made her daytime hide in a corner. Of course the dogs spotter her, so I decided it would be better to put her outside, where she should be. I grabbed the camera and shot her as she made her bid for escape.

I know she is female by her size. . The females grow to 18mm but the males, one of which I found a nearby a little later, only grow to 12mm. The females are much easier to photograph. :)
Stone Spiders are nocturnal hunters. They don't spin webs but make silky tunnelled dens under stones or bark to hide in during the day, as their name suggests... very rarely a mat.

I'm slowly catching up and enjoying your journals. Once again my blip time is becoming limited so my apologies if I don't comment regularly. I'm always in the background, reading your blips between commitments and very touched by all your responses to mine.