The world of spiders of western Canada is not just restricted to the creepy crawlers you see buried in the petals of your rose bush or climbing up the water pipe. Some spiders spin webs; others employ other methods to capture prey. Some spiders are microscopically small; others are big and hairy. Most spiders here do not cause any harm to humans, but some people find them frightening. Not so John and Kathleen Hancock. They have spent their lives studying these creatures. Now living near Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, they have put together descriptions of these creatures and their habitats and habits, drawings and photos of the spiders of western Canada.

John Hancock's profile page

Kathleen Hancock's profile page

This is a very good introductory spiders book for novice arachnologists because it is compact and inexpensive.

The artwork in the book is excellent, including coloured pencil drawings of intriguing spider faces, body parts, intricate webs and/or prey by John Hancock as seen through his stereoscopic binocular microscope, part of a collection of 4000 drawings he has created over several decades.

Donna R Kurt