Why are 10,000 giant spiders loose in the UK? | wildlife news

This week several British newspapers and tabloids published claims that 10,000 mammoth spiders as big as rats have been let loose across the country.

A report in the tabloid Daily Mail reads: Thousands of giant spiders the size of a human hand have been released in the UK after a zoo decided to let them run free.

But scientists have made clear that although thousands of the spiders were deliberately bred and released several years ago, they do not run free and are not as large as claimed.

Here's what we know about how this story came to be and the real story behind it.

What actually happened?

Last August, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and several other conservation groups announced that the large raft spider (also known as pen raft spider) was listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). ) and in the UK as Nationally Rare, where it became popular again in some countries.

These areas include The Broads, the largest network of lakes, rivers and protected wetlands in the UK across the north-eastern counties of Norfolk and Suffolk.

The recovery of the spider population is thanks to years of intensive conservation by scientists. Before these efforts, there were only a few giant raft spiders, the British paper claims. Chester Zoo estimates there may currently be up to 10,000 arachnids across the UK. According to the RSPB, recent surveys have shown that the population of female giant raft spiders has numbered in the thousands, with around 3,750 in Norfolk alone, with the population growing from three to 12.

An August statement from the RSPB said this was an impressive figure compared to the species that was listed as critically endangered in 2010. The organization added that the species remains vulnerable but is no longer at risk of extinction.

The IUCN still lists the spider as Vulnerable on its Red List of Threatened Species, which it designated in 1996. Scientists say spiders were likely extremely abundant across Europe in prehistoric times.

Breeding season typically occurs in July and September. RSPB experts predict that last year was the best year on record for spider breeding and there is potential for numbers to increase.

Large raft spider or fen raft spider (Dolomedes plantarius) close up. [VitaSerendipity/Getty Images]
What are the different types of spiders?

The giant raft spider (Dolomedes plantarius) is a European species noted for its large size and white or cream-colored stripes that run down the sides of its black or brown body. The spiders, which have a lifespan of two years, are harmless to humans and are unlikely to be found inside residential buildings as they typically live in moist environments.

Females are larger than males. Overall length, including spread legs, can reach up to 70 mm (2.8 in) in females. If you place a spider on the palm of an adult human, which is on average about 75 mm (3 inches) long, it will cover the inner surface.

Dave Clarke, a conservationist at London Zoo, wrote on his blog last September: This is easily reported to be the size of a human hand, or the length of a newborn rat extended to the size of a mouse.

But in a post on X last week, Chester Zoo used the term “grow to the size of your hand” to describe the spider.

10 years ago we helped return thousands of giant spiders to the UK!

Penn raft spiders are bred right here at the zoo and we are very excited to report that we now have over 10,000 breeding females and have had the largest mating season on record! pic.twitter.com/xXvpRe24iU

Chester Zoo (@chesterzoo) October 30, 2024

Giant raft spiders actively hunt rather than build webs to catch their prey. They are semi-aquatic animals and can fly across the surface of water bodies to catch prey. Tiny leg hairs help them sense vibrations on the water's surface. Males also use hair-based sensory systems to communicate with females during courtship, testing the female's response by tapping the surface of the water. Giant raft spiders prey on dragonflies, damselflies, tadpoles, small fish larvae, and other spiders.

Females are extremely protective of their eggs. When breeding, the mother builds egg sacs to produce hundreds of young, usually over a period of about three weeks, while foraging. Just before the baby spiders hatch, the mother spider spins a soft web about the size of a pizza that hangs above the water to keep her newborns and herself safe.

In the UK, swamp spiders inhabit pristine alkaline canals and swamps and grazing wetlands of moist peatland rich in reeds and rushes.

Conservationists say humans are unlikely to encounter swamp spiders because they only inhabit a small number of protected wetlands in the UK. In other parts of Europe, such as Scandinavia, spiders are found at the edges of natural lakes.

What happened to the spiders?

Giant raft spiders are almost extinct in the UK due to destruction of their natural habitat. For example, scientists found that in East Anglia, year-round water supplies to some wetlands are decreasing and much runoff is increasingly being diverted to public water sources, leading to a decline in spiders.

Climate change has compounded the problem as summer droughts intensify in the UK, scientists say.

Giant raft spider populations have also declined in some areas of continental Europe. In the Netherlands, there is also evidence of reduced levels of wetlands and water bodies where agricultural runoff or fertilizer runoff accumulates. However, the population is well-established in the Baltic and Scandinavia regions.

How were they preserved?

In an effort led by the RSPB between 2011 and 2013, scientists from British zoos and conservation organizations collaborated to breed hundreds of spider babies in individual test tubes (so they don't cannibalize each other).

Our team used tweezers to delicately hand-feed tiny flies to hundreds of baby spiders every day for several weeks in a bio-secure breeding facility, Chester Zoo said in a statement. Project. Eventually, the young spiders grew strong enough to return to their natural habitat, and our partners worked to restore them and we released them in their hundreds.

Clarke, of London Zoo, who worked on the project, wrote in a blog post that the baby spiders were introduced to a new, suitable environment, including a protected wetland. This contradicts claims that spiders are loose across the country.

Clarke wrote that there is no reason to fear if the spider population increases because it is unlikely to spread into residential areas. This is a huge conservation success, both for the spiders and for the broader habitat restoration that drives their success. Misinformation like this only fuels the fire. Arachnophobia in people [fear of spiders].

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