Recovery of the Fen Raft Spider in Norfolk...

They can walk on water and lurk around lakes... but one of the UK's rarest spiders was on its last legs until recently.

According to the RSPB, the fen raft spider is the UK's biggest spider species and was almost at the point of extinction until recently. Now, after a conservation project lasting over ten years, the RSPB have helped the fen raft spider make a comeback in nature reserves along the River Yare, Norfolk.
In 2010, the British Arachnological Society, Natural England, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the University of East Anglia all teamed up to try and bring the fen raft spider back. They first trialled breeding fen rafts in captivity, before releasing them back into the wild in 2012, monitoring which spaces they preferred living in. Over the last decade their numbers have risen, and the RSPB now estimate that the number of female fen raft spiders who are breeding has reached around 10,000!

It can be quite hard to spot this rare spider, but according to the RSPB the best time is when the young spiders hatch, as they can be visible when the adult spiders create their own nursery around the water on a sunny day.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/cq5djdwl0qqo

Posted on August 25, 2024 08:21 PM by heliastes21