Having collected Erigone aletris by beating shrubs around a fairly open cemetery, I thought that Winsford’s Mount Pleasant council estate with its recreation areas and tree planted screening (planted in the 1970’s) between the estate and the dual carriageway looked relatively similar. So off I set with beating tray and stick in hand. I started beating the estate side of the dual carriageway screening with immediate success, with a female Ero aphana coming off the first bush. A couple of minutes later two female Nigma puella were beaten from another deciduous bush about four metres from the first. Unfortunately these were the highlights of the day with the majority of the rest of the spiders collected over the next couple of hours being the usual fare. The only exception was that amongst the 2 male and 28 female Enoplognatha ovata collected were 2 male Enoplognatha latimana. 

These road screen plantings and general tree planting schemes have become the norm in and around most of our towns and cities over the past few decades. I plan to visit a few more of these, in adjacent towns, next spring/summer in the hope that this find has not been a one off.