| Meta
menardi is the second of Nottinghamshire's very
large cave spiders which is found in sites of complete
darkness. Most often found in caves and railway tunnels, Meta
menardi also occurs in other dark places such as
cellars and ice houses. Although there are visual
differences in abdomen colouration to Meta bourneti,
accurate identification is best achieved by examination
of the female's epigyne. In Nottinghamshire, this spider
is currently known only from the caves at Creswell Crags,
a site which straddles the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire
border. Nationally, Meta menardi is more
commonly recorded than Meta bourneti, but this
may possibly be through casual assumption that the latter
spider is the least likely to be encountered.
Photographed in April 2013. |
