Nick Upton / False black widow / Cupboard spider (Steatoda grossa) egg sac in a garden shed, near Wells, Somerset, UK, October.

Chien Lee / Huntsman Spider (Pandercetes sp) female guarding egg sac, Gunung Lucia, Tawau Hills Park, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Chris Mattison / Missing-sector orweb spider (Zygiella x-notata) female guarding her egg-sac, Catbrook, Monmouthshire, Wales, UK

Brian Bevan / Wasp spider (Argiope bruennichi) weaving egg sac, Bedfordshire, England, UK, August.

Emanuele Biggi / Great Fen / Raft spider (Dolomedes plantarius), adult female holding egg sac, Alessandria, Italy. September.

Emanuele Biggi / Huntsman spider (Heteropoda boiei) female with her egg sac in Malaysian rainforest, Mulu National Park, Borneo.

Emanuele Biggi / Cave web spider (Psechrus borneo) female with egg sac, Gomantong caves, Borneo, Sabah, Malaysia.

Jussi Murtosaari / Raft spider (Dolomedes fimbriatus), female with egg sac, Finland, August.

James Dunbar / Deserta Grande Wolf Spider (Hogna ingens) female guarding egg sac, in captive breeding program at Bristol Zoo Gardens, Captive. Critically endangered species, native to Madeira.

Paul Bertner / Sac Spider (Clubionidae) with eggs, Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Rod Williams / Spotted wolf spder (Pardosa amentata) carrying an egg sac Hutchinson's Bank, New Addington, London, England, UK. June.

Steve Downer / Female Ground spider (Gnaphosidae) in leaf chamber guarding her egg sac, England, UK.