New jumping species discovered in Cornwall, bizarre spiders thriving in UK

Some are small and neurotic; If you are a humble housefly, others are big and scary. Exotic spiders are thriving in the UK, as international trade provides ample opportunities for spiders to travel, and global warming provides an increasingly hospitable climate.

A new species of jumping spider has been discovered at the Penryn campus in Cornwall, home to the universities of Exeter and Falmouth. Known close relative 3-4 mm long Miriam leaf wasp Found in the Caribbean, it is likely that this tiny species came to the UK from distant climates along with 17 other non-native jumping spider species.

Bigger, more eye-catching newcomers include Zoropsis spinimana, commonly known as the false wolf spider, a Mediterranean species that thrives in houses across London, and the eye-catching green-toothed tube-web spider.Florentia centipede), which first established itself in Bristol and is now found throughout southern England.

Of the 3,500 non-native spider species recorded in the UK, around 50 are non-native, most of which have been inadvertently introduced by global movements of goods and people. Only about 10-15% of non-native species, such as gray squirrels, Japanese knotweed and Asian or yellow-legged wasps, are considered invasive and cause negative impacts to the environment or people.

Helen Smith, conservation officer at the British Arachnological Society, said: Britain’s arachnid fauna, along with the rest of our wildlife, is changing at an unprecedented rate. As new alien species spread, especially outside urban areas, the chance that they will affect less common native species increases.

In addition to competing for prey and living space, these spiders may introduce new parasites and diseases, a problem well known among invasive gray squirrels and crayfish but poorly studied among spiders. Approximately 15% of our native spider species are already threatened with extinction due to habitat loss and climate change, and non-native species are likely to increase their risk in the future.

Tylan Berry, Devon and Cornwall regional organizer for the British Arachnological Society, discovered the new jumping spider species during a bioblitz, or census, at Penryn campus. This unusual species was confirmed as new to science and named by jumping spider expert Dmitry Logunov from the Institute of Zoology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Berry said it’s amazing how some things can be hidden in plain sight. It is established on campus and is easy to find, living and breeding in large numbers, and has also been found in another ornamental garden 30 miles away.

It’s a nice little thing that looks a bit like an old rug from the 1970s, brown and white, patterned.

Cornwall and Devon are hotspots for new spiders, thanks to their harbors and mild climate, which in some areas is frost-free, allowing the exotic species to survive British winters.

Berry discovered large numbers of another non-native spider, the gray house spider (badumna longkinkwa) in Plymouth.

The large spider, from the Australian state of New South Wales, is considered one of the most invasive spider species in some of the countries where it was accidentally introduced, including Japan, the United States and Brazil.

The fast-spreading species is not yet widespread across continental Europe, but has spread rapidly across the UK since it was first discovered in 2021. . Many early sightings occurred near ports or garden centers, suggesting they arrived via imported plants.

Its position in Plymouth is strong, Berry said. I was really surprised. Its distribution area reaches 6 square kilometers, and it is the dominant species in some places.

The spiders congregate in large numbers in urban areas, weaving webs that look similar to some native spiders on wooden fences and metal road signs, including bus stops.

In some places, Berry found only this species and few native spiders, and worried it might have replaced native lace-web spiders and missing fan-shaped orb-weaver spiders.

It definitely has the potential to cause ecosystem shifts, Berry said. But I think they might just be fighting for space rather than preying on native spiders.

Exotic spiders thrill tabloid editors and warn arachnophobes, while false wolf spiders and green-toothed tube-web spiders have the potential to cause a stir due to their sheer size and theoretical ability to pierce with their (briefly painful) human skin.

In fact, despite the media attention, false wolf spiders haven’t caused much alarm, while green-toothed tube-web spiders are solitary, living in holes in walls and only popping out at night to catch prey.

Both species are migratory, and since the false tarantula was first photographed in the UK in 2008, it has spread west to Somerset and north to Newcastle, and in some cases, not only in containers around the world on, and in a campervan in the UK.

Spider experts have a message: Don’t panic. Pay attention to these things and write them down if you can, but also be interested in them, Berry said. The more you learn, the more you understand about a species, which is a great way to shake off any fears or misinformation.

These arrivals are about to happen. There is nothing we can do to stop them. As the climate warms, different species can take hold in specific areas and quickly change ecosystems.