Spider season: Extinct spiders are making comeback in the UK

But don’t despair, the huge growth in numbers of the Fen Raft Spider is actually a conservation success story.

The spider was on the verge of extinction in the UK in 2010 but has thankfully made a comeback thanks to the efforts of the (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) RSPB.

The Fen Raft Spider

The Fen Raft Spider’s diet includes other spiders, damselflies, dragonfly larvae and even fish and tadpoles.

They are easiest to spot in grazing marsh ditches from June to September.

“The Fen Raft Spider is one of the UK’s rarest invertebrates and we are proud of the role our reserves and teams have played in its recovery,” Tim Strudwick, the RSPB Mid Yare nature reserves site manager where many of the spiders are homed, told the MailOnline.

“These spiders have an important role in maintaining the rich aquatic diversity found in the grazing ditches on our reserves. The females are impressive in size, but also beautiful – they are truly special to see,” Mr Strudwick added.

The spiders are not venomous but are semi-aquatic and can run across the water’s surface to capture their prey.

Recommended reading:

BBC researcher confirms tarantulas inhabit these parts of UK

UK’s confirmed biggest spider might be lurking in buildings

Every sighting of the venomous false widow spider in the UK

Mr Strudwick added that the spiders can also be seen at another RSPB site in Norfolk but are “fairly shy”.

Numbers are up to 3,750 breeding females at 12 sites in Norfolk alone. 

He added: “Walking along the meadow trail gives visitors at Strumpshaw Fen the best chance of sightings of the mature females and their glistening nursery webs, so now is the perfect time to make a trip to the reserve.”

RSPB ecologist, Jane Sears, who was also involved in Fen Raft Spider conservation told the paper: “The RSPB has played an important role in the reintroduction of these spiders and means we must continue to restore, manage and protect the wetland habitats where the Fen Raft Spider thrives to ensure the future of not just this species, but many others too.”