The UK’s largest breed of spiders, which can grow to the size of rats and hunts fish, are making a comeback in Britain.
From near-extinction in 2010 - when only a handful remained as their wetland homes were destroyed by humans - the number of fen raft spiders are now steadily increasing thanks to recent conservation efforts.
The spiders are set to have their best year on record at nature reserves ran by RSBP.
The conservation charity revealed that the most recent survey estimates the total number of female spiders to be up to 3,750 across 12 sites in Norfolk and Suffolk Broads alone.
The spider can spin a web as large as 25cm and can grow to the size of a man’s hand.
I’m sorry what? We have a native spider the size of a rat? Why did I not know this. This is important information.
I am never leaving the house again.
Plot twist: they’re already in your house.
(I’m hacking around with Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead at the moment) Noooooo!!!
I saw one on the wall when I was staying just outside Guildford. I was in disbelief that I would see such a thing in Europe.
I thought they looked like the dock spiders we have in Minnesota, turns out they’re the same thing. Utterly terrifying but completely harmless.
Noooo reading this I thought I was safe being all the way over here :( whyyyy
I don’t think you’re likely to ever come across one if you don’t live in a lake, they have only been identified in a handful of places.
They usually are found around the shore or river banks only walking onto the water for hunting. The only spider you will mostly find in a lake are diving bell spiders.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving_bell_spider
That sounds neat.
That sounds less agreeable than the giant raft spider.
Sentence after that:
It’s really hard to get bitten by any spider. I can’t imagine how hard it must be to get bitten by spider that lives underwater. I have to check those wiki sources …
Ah I misunderstood that a fen is actually a thing (non-native speaker here). So I correct my original post to “if you don’t live in a fen”
As a native speaker, I’ve never heard the word “fen” in my life. So, that’s probably why they didn’t say that.
Who didn’t say that?
Oh, I guess it was you who didn’t say fen. But it’s probably more correct to leave “fen” out, at least if you want to be understood. It is not s common word. I had to look it up.
they’re apparently 7cm wide including the legs, so more like the size of a mouse and even then it’s being a bit generous.
Maybe it’s a baby rat. I’m going to believe it’s a baby rat.
They hunt fish. There’s no need to worry if you aren’t fish.
If only arachnophobia were so logical