Rabbit Hutch Spider - Steatoda bipunctata
It has a glossy chestnut brown abdomen, usually with a thin pale band stretching across the front that incorporates a central white 'V' just behind the head. The abdomen has four tiny indentations on its back which in the absence of an internal skeleton, serve as anchor points for internal muscles. Females grow up to 7mm and males to about 5 mm.
Typical specimens can be determined from good photos but some need checking.
Usually indoors, often in animal pens, garages, sheds etc.
Females are to be found all year round. Males are usually only found in summer and autumn.
It feeds on anything that stumbles into its web (often woodlice). The web is just a tangle of criss-cross threads.
Common and widespread in Britain.
Common in Leicestershire and Rutland.
2252 British records to Jan 2013
Leicestershire & Rutland Map
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UK Map
Species profile
- Species group:
- Spiders
- Kingdom:
- Animalia
- Order:
- Araneae
- Family:
- Theridiidae
- Records on NatureSpot:
- 111
- First record:
- 11/05/2007 (Nicholls, David)
- Last record:
- 04/02/2025 (Philip Harper)
Total records by month
% of records within its species group
10km squares with records
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