The "What is this bug?" thread

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Second suggestion is a good one. that's the caterpillar of the Large Elephant Hawk Moth, probably the most frequent "What is this bug?" request in the UK.

As usual the only person who hasn't found one this year is me.

Not quite the only person ... neither have I, although one of the moths came in the bedroom in July - gloriously huge!
 
Second suggestion is a good one. that's the caterpillar of the Large Elephant Hawk Moth, probably the most frequent "What is this bug?" request in the UK.

As usual the only person who hasn't found one this year is me.

Oh Harvestman! there everywhere :):) Here is my badboy looking mean!
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Ok so its common, I get it
 
I am just hoping this picture posts, having a bit of trouble with my technology! Would love to know what this colourful bug is, many thanks!

PS
 
Found this on my runner beans this weekend. Would be amazing camouflage on the right plant. So what is it?
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Ok, found out it's a "Plume Moth" of some description, in the Pterophoridae family
 
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Saw this little nice spider the other day and was brave enough to get close... I like orb spiders, it's most of the others that give me the willies.

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Thought I'd post up for Harvestman as he likes 'em all.
 
Thank you harvestman, was taken on a little Cannon compact, had to fiddle the auto focus to get it to come out. Meadow Sweet and vetch in the background.

I do indeed. That's a false orb weaver, Metellina sp, at this time of year probably Metellina segmentata. A female.

Nicely pictured.
 
False widow, yes. Steatoda species. I'll have to consult the books, but S. nobilis, the biggest of the UK species, looks probable to me.

By the way, UK Steatoda are not dangerous, despite their size, fearsome appearance, and anything you might read in the Daily Mail. They are related to Black Widow spiders, but nowhere near as venomous. They have been recorded eating Black Widow spiders though :)

P.s. I checked, and yes, that looks like a female Steatoda nobilis. Glorious spider.
 
That's pretty big, so yeah, S. nobilis. I suddenly wondered about Steatoda paykulliana, which has only turned up in the UK a few times, and that one might be dangerous.
 
That's pretty big, so yeah, S. nobilis. I suddenly wondered about Steatoda paykulliana, which has only turned up in the UK a few times, and that one might be dangerous.

We never thought about putting something next to it as a scale - D'oh!
It was around 1/2 to 3/4" at the most.
We both handled it to lead it into the bowl for the pic, so clearly not that nasty - lol
 
Actually, looking again, that's a male, which means that it is more likely to be S.nobilis at that size, and S.paykulliana male isn't regarded as dangerous - just the female.

Before anyone asks, it is because she is bigger than him.
 

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