I have a black spider in my conservatory at the moment which doesn't look like any common UK house spider I've ever seen. It's body is about 1/2 inch round and has creamy coloured markings on its back which you can see in the picture. The web it has spun is very thick. Please has anyone got any ideas as I cannot find anything like it on the internet?
Try this site:
http://www.nicksspiders.com/nicksspiders/gallery.htm
From this angle it looks like a common house spider. I have a nice female in my bathroom that we let live. As long as she's fed she never leaves her corner. :-)
^ I could be wrong about yours, I can't see it clearly enough.
I have had true black widows but no sign of creamy or any other markings on its back- just pure gloss black, with the classic tummy mark.
Although this does look like a member of the family Therediidae (to which the common house and widow spiders belong), it does not seem to match any of the common British species - see http://greatbritishspiders.tripod.com/
However, bear in mind that there can be considerable individual variation in colour patterns within a given species.
