Into the jaws of death

admin
, 21 September 2016
Into the jaws of death
wasp spider / Barry Yates

By Jess Price

Conservation Officer

As the wild flowers of summer begin to fade there is still one bright and colourful creature lurking in the undergrowth which may catch your eye: the female wasp spider with her distinctive bold yellow and black stripy legs and abdomen. These impressive arachnids can grow up to 17mm, but despite their size and colour they are not dangerous. In fact, their bright colours act to deter predators.

It is only the females that are wasp coloured, the males are much smaller at only 4-5 mm and are pale brown. Unfortunately mating is a dangerous game for these would-be Romeos, as the females have a tendency to eat them after mating. To improve their chances of avoiding an untimely end, the males wait at the edge of the female’s web until she has moulted into her adult form, and then take advantage of her jaws being soft at this time to rush in and try their luck.

Female wasp spiders can be seen in Sussex hanging in their large orb-shaped web in grassland from April to October. They also use the grasses as a nursery, where they attach their silk egg-sacs. The web is usually built low to the ground in areas of long grass so they can trap their favourite prey - grasshoppers and crickets. The web always has a thick white zigzag shaped stripe running down the middle called a stabilimentum. Scientists are still unsure of the purpose of the stabilimentum. Some suggest that it makes the web more stable, whilst others think it may help to attract insects or possibly deter birds from flying through large webs.

Although they are now common across the south of England, wasp spiders are actually native to Mediterranean areas. This species was first recorded in the UK in the 1920s although it is possible that the spider was here before then. It has since spread quickly in the south and is now thought to be moving north due to our warming climate. Please do let us know if you see a wasp spider when you are out and about in Sussex: www.sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/record

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783608118.13240 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783608118.15860.0262Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783608118.15870.0001Server address: 216.73.217.88
1783608118.15880Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783608118.15880Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/into-the-jaws-of-death
    [s] => into-the-jaws-of-death
    [1] => into-the-jaws-of-death
)
1783608118.1590.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783608118.16010.001 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783608118.16180.0017 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783608118.16240.0006INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783608118.16420.0018 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22826683
1783608118.16470.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22826683
1783608118.16530.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-09 14:41:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-09 14:41:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783608118.16650.0012 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='into-the-jaws-of-death')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-09 14:41:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783608118.16910.0026 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783608118.16970.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=1205 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-09 14:41:00'
1783608118.17050.0008 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783608118.17130.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783608118.17190.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=32 LIMIT 1
1783608118.17250.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=84 LIMIT 1
1783608118.17310.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783608118.17330.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783608118.17420.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-09 14:41:00' AND postSlug='into-the-jaws-of-death'
1783608118.19540.0212Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783608118.19590.0005 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783608118.19740.0015Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783608118.19760.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783608118.19840.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783608118.19990.0015 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783608118.20290.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783608118.20370.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783608118.20590.0022Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783608118.2060.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783608118.20910.0031 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783608118.21050.0014 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783608118.21340.0029 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783608118.21520.0018 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783608118.2160.0008 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783608118.22040.0044 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783608118.22130.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783608118.22330.0021 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783608118.22380.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783608118.22410.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1783608118.22480.0007Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783608118.22530.0005 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='into-the-jaws-of-death')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-09 14:41:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783608118.22760.0024 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783608118.22840.0007 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783608118.23060.0023Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783608118.23170.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=1205 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783608118.28510.0535 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783608118.28530.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783608118.28560.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1783608118.28630.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783608118.28690.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783608118.28750.0005 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783608118.28980.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783608118.29030.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783608118.29220.0019 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783608118.29330.0011 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783608118.29380.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783608118.29440.0006 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783608118.29690.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783608118.29730.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783608118.29910.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783608118.30130.0022 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783608118.30370.0024 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783608118.30430.0006 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783608118.30670.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783608118.31020.0035 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783608118.32080.0106 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783608118.32660.0058 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783608118.32720.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783608118.32760.0004 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783608118.32960.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783608118.33010.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783608118.33320.0031 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783608118.33410.0009Request time: 0.203
1783608118.33410Process time: 0.2029
1783608118.33420Memory: 1.6217