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I've no idea about spider species. I can only say, the first specimen was a rather "big" spider...






Both spiders were found in "garriga habitat", and the second spider seemed to me to be very common.

I would say that at least the first one was a Lycosa tarantula, quite common on Krk,
so why not on Cres as well.

Berislav Horvatic wrote:I would say that at least the first one was a Lycosa tarantula, quite common on Krk,
so why not on Cres as well.

Thanks, Bero!

But it's relatively easy to lure them out of their holes, so I wonder why you didn't try.
One just picks a culm of grass with a spikelet, wets the spikelet with saliva, and offers
it to the spider. It might take some patience, but usually the spider bites the lure and
gets pulled out of its den. Then you cover the entrance with a small stone or something,
to prevent it rushing back, and the spider is at your mercy for a decent photo-session.

Berislav Horvatic wrote:But it's relatively easy to lure them out of their holes, so I wonder why you didn't try.
One just picks a culm of grass with a spikelet, wets the spikelet with saliva, and offers
it to the spider. It might take some patience, but usually the spider bites the lure and
gets pulled out of its den. Then you cover the entrance with a small stone or something,
to prevent it rushing back, and the spider is at your mercy for a decent photo-session.

I didn't know the saliva trick.
I've tried only with a spikelet of grass, as I've seen in documentaries about tarantulas of south America, but the spider came out only for few millimeters, as you can see in the picture...

I didn't know the saliva trick. I've tried only with a spikelet of grass, ...

Spiders are no vegetarians, so why should they bite into a dry spikelet? But saliva smells and tastes
like FOOD, it's an animal's excretion. It also offers WATER, a precious thing in hot days. (And is also
always "at hand" (to us), unlike salami or cheese or something...)
I learned the trick from a shepherd on the island of Krk, many years ago, and it works. Many thanks
to him, not only for that.
Actually I've also tried to lure them with the best and most expensive salami produced in Croatia as
well, but the spiders just failed to recognize that as FOOD... to THEIR taste. No wonder.

The second spider is Agelena labyrinthica with its typical funnel web in the gras.

Robert

Robert Madl wrote:The second spider is Agelena labyrinthica with its typical funnel web in the gras.

Quite so, I would say, inasmuch as one can discern from the photos presented here.
Also quite abundant in the area - I've seen quite a lot of them on the neighbouring
island of Krk.