Friday 25 December 2015

Merry Christmas from the "Santa Spider"

Merry Christmas to all my readers! I hope you're all enjoying a good festive break from work, university and life. Whilst I'm sure you all have better things to do today than read my blog, I thought I would bring some ecology in to your day if you're up to it! The spider below is colloquially known as the ladybird spider or 'Father Christmas' spider, which as you can probably guess, is due to the bright red, white and black markings found on the males. It's one of the UK's rarest and smallest spiders and suffered from habitat degradation throughout the 20th Century.


Eresus sandaliatus, apparently trying to sniff out a female with organs on his legs; Source.

The spider is somewhat of a conservation "Christmas miracle" and has been brought back from the brink of extirpation in the UK to a now thriving population. The spider went from an estimated 50 individuals remaining in Britain in 1993 to well over 600 in 2000. The spider makes its home in heathland, which is one of the UKs most threatened habitats, and over 90% of it has been lost to development and agriculture since 1800. In Dorset, there has been concerted conservation efforts to restore the spider populations as well as protect heathland habitats. At one site there were only 7 spiders left, but there are now thriving and have been released from this site into other areas, where they have successfully colonised. Workers from the RSPB used plastic water battles filled with moss and heather to create houses for the spiders where they could breed safely.

A cute and inspiring conservation story - I try not to be too pessimistic on this blog!
 Merry Christmas!


Tiny spider is tiny; Source.
Plastic water bottle houses, Source.
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5 comments:

  1. Unknown4 January 2016 at 18:45

    Hi Ben, MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!
    Firstly, I absolutely HATE spiders, but I read your post anyway - and I'm glad I did.
    I think that the fact these spiders have been saved from extinction is definitely something to shout about and provides a positive outlook on conservation which I think is needed at the moment where there is much focus on environmental degradation.
    Is Dorset the only place where specific conservation of the spider is practiced?

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    1. Ben Siggery5 January 2016 at 09:39

      Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you too! Yes, I think spiders need a lot of love conservation wise as so many people are opposed to them :P I'm not sure if Dorset was the only place they used those rather cute plastic bottle houses, but I think the RSPB there were the ones who pioneered the idea. Given the success, it might be used in other heathland reserves to aid the regeneration of the spider populations :)

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  2. Unknown5 January 2016 at 14:59

    Wow, those plastic water bottle houses are adorable! Glad to hear that this spider species has began to re-colonise its native habitat. Are there much emphasis placed within large-scale conservation NGOs on protecting spider species?
    Happy Christmas and New Year!

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    1. Ben Siggery5 January 2016 at 16:45

      Merry Christmas to you too! They are very cute! No, as far as I'm aware, unfortunately spiders generally have a bad rep and are seen as pests, so don't get a lot of attention conservation wise. It would be nice to see that change in time, for other invertebrates as well!

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  3. hindi kahaniya2 October 2022 at 13:30

    nice story thanks for share. you should read about this world best story

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