Return to the Fens for one of the UK’s rarest spiders
22 October 2010
3,000 fen raft spiders bred in Suffolk kitchen ready for release into the wild
Fen raft spider ©Dr Helen Smith
Thousands of baby fen raft spiders are being released into a Suffolk nature reserve this week, as part of a partnership project between Natural England and the Suffolk Wildlife Trust designed to turn around the fortunes of one of the UK’s most endangered species.
3,000 baby spiders, or ‘spiderlings’ have been artificially reared in the kitchen of Dr Helen Smith - an ecologist working with Natural England - who has looked after them continuously since spring 2010. They are kept in separate test tubes, so they don’t attack each other, and each must be fed by hand with fruit flies.
Hours of intensive care has produced a bumper batch of these rare spiderlings, which are now ready to be released into their wetland habitat at Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s (SWT) Castle Marshes reserve, between Lowestoft and Beccles.
Dr Helen Smith said: “Hand rearing over a thousand baby spiders is an exhausting job. At one stage I was up until 2am, seven days a week, feeding flies to hungry young spiders in my kitchen. I’m excited and relieved to see them making their own way in the world - and I can finally have my kitchen back.”
The fen raft spider is officially classed as endangered in the UK and tiny populations of the species are now confined to just two remaining sites in England. The spiderlings in Helen’s kitchen are hybrids from parents from both sites and will be released this week into Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s Castle Marshes reserve.
Dr Smith continued: “The hybrids bring the advantage of increased genetic variability to the new population. This should give the new population at Castle Marshes the best potential to adapt to its surroundings and to cope with the impacts of climate change”.
Dr Pete Brotherton, Head of Biodiversity for Natural England, said: “Numbers of fen raft spider have dwindled to perilously low levels in England - isolated to a few remaining pockets of habitat, it would be difficult for the remaining populations to recover on their own. Targeted reintroduction has given this endangered species a second chance and it is encouraging to see how the work of dedicated ecologists like Helen can make a real difference to the fortunes of our threatened wildlife.”
Notes to editors
For photographs and interviews contact: Beth Rose, senior press officer at Natural England, on: 0300 060 1405 or 07900 608 052, beth.rose@naturalengland.org.uk Out of hours: 07970 098 005, press@naturalengland.org.uk
The fen raft spider project:
The fen raft spider (Dolomedes plantarius) was not discovered in the UK until 1956 when eminent arachnologist Eric Duffey found it around the margins of peat pools at Redgrave and Lopham Fen, at the source of the River Waveney on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. A second UK population was discovered, 180 km away, when Peter Kirby identified D. plantarius from grazing marsh ditches on the Pevensey Levels in East Sussex in 1988. In 2003, a third UK population was discovered on a disused canal near Swansea, South Wales, by local naturalist Mike Clark. The fen raft spider is one of only two British spiders that if fully protected by law and has been the subject of a Natural England Species Recovery Programme since 1999.
The BBC Wildlife Fund has provided important financial support for much of Helen’s work and the John Innes Centre has helped rear some of the spiders produced by the project, following such a successful breeding programme.
Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s Castle Marshes National Natural Reserve:
Castle Marshes on the River Waveney, approx 50km downstream from Redgrave and Lopham Fen, will be the first new site for the fen raft spider in East Anglia. Site preparation for establishment of the new spiders included enhancing the ditch network. Another translocated population was released simultaneously into recently created pools at Redgrave and Lopham Fen NNR to reinforce its small, resident natural population (one of only 3 in the UK).
An exhibition of work resulting from a fen raft spider artist residency with Sheila Tilmouth and based at SWT’s Carlton Marshes centre, will coincide with the release running from 25-28 October.
About Natural England
Natural England is the government’s independent advisor on the natural environment. Established in 2006 our work is focused on enhancing England’s wildlife and landscapes and maximising the benefits they bring to the public.
We establish and care for England’s main wildlife and geological sites, ensuring that over 4,000 National Nature Reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest are looked after and improved.
We work to ensure that England’s landscapes are effectively protected, designating England’s National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Marine Conservation Zones, and advising widely on their conservation.
We run England’s Environmental Stewardship green farming schemes that deliver over £400 million a year to farmers and landowners, enabling them to enhance the natural environment across two thirds of England’s farmland.
We fund, manage, and provide scientific expertise for hundreds of conservation projects each year, improving the prospects for thousands of England’s species and habitats.
We promote access to the wider countryside, helping establish National Trails and coastal trails and ensuring that the public can enjoy and benefit from them.
For further information about Natural England contact: The National Press Office on 0845 603 9953/ press@naturalengland.org.uk / out of hours 07970 098 005 / www.naturalengland.org.uk
