The BC Spider Diversity Team:

Robb Bennett, Royal BC Museum Research Associate
Robb Bennett did his doctoral degree in spider systematics and is interested in spider taxonomy and faunistics. He has described many new species and is considered a leading expert in the family Cybaeidae in North America and Canadian spider fauna in general.

Darren Copley, Royal BC Museum Vertebrate Collections Manager and Mammal and Bird Preparator
Darren Copley’s research interests span many taxa, from invertebrates to vertebrates, and he has particular expertise in spider taxonomy and identifications. His skill in the field at collecting invertebrates is matched by his ability to document, by song or call, the various bird species encountered during fieldwork, which dovetails naturally with his career as a vertebrate collections manager at the Royal BC Museum.

Claudia Copley, Royal BC Museum Entomology Collections Manager and Researcher
Claudia Copley has been interested in “the little things that run the world” since childhood and is interested in furthering this knowledge, whether it is through her own work or facilitating the research of others.

What we are doing:
For more than a decade, the three of us have been actively collecting spider specimens to improve the holdings at the Royal BC Museum. Robb and Darren spend hundreds of hours identifying the collected material - spider identification primarily involves adult spiders, a microscope, and a close examination of their “naughty bits”.

We are interested in what others are seeing in the province, so we have decided to commit some time on iNaturalist to trying to identify spiders from photographs. Currently we are involved in two projects:

1. The Spider Diversity of BC Project
2. The RBCM Voucher Observations Project

Please check those out to learn more.