Wasp Spider Found in Cheshire as 'Climate Refugee' — SkimNews
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- Chester Zoo conservationists spotted a female wasp spider (Argiope bruennichi) on a rewilded field in Cheshire during a routine "bioblitz" biodiversity survey, confirmed as the first county sighting by the British Arachnological Society.
- The species, first recorded in the UK in the 1920s, was also reported moving west into Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Warwickshire last week, with only a "handful" of sightings north of the Midlands to date.
- Scott Wilson, head of field programmes at Chester Zoo, nicknamed the spider "Wendy" and noted females grow to about 2cm in body length, with studies finding up to 80% of males die after their first mating.
- Ruby Merriman, Chester Zoo's estate biodiversity manager, said wasp spiders are moving north as their southern European ranges warm too quickly to adapt, framing them as "climate refugees" driven by human activity.
- Wilson warned the same warming-driven trend could see invasive non-native species such as Asian hornets spread northwards, and that native species confined to fragmented habitats like heathlands risk local extinction.
- The spider's bite is unlikely to harm humans unless harassed, with venom Wilson compared to a nettle sting.
Why it matters: Wilson's warning that warming will also open the UK to invasives like Asian hornets matters more than the new-arrival hook — the country's already fragmented landscape leaves habitat specialists in single counties with few escape routes if their patches warm beyond tolerance.
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