RSPB officials were surprised to find an elusive cave spider at their Minsmere nature reserve in Suffolk. This rarely seen arachnid was found in a shed two weeks ago, but RSPB charity staff needed to receive verification on it’s species before going public on the discovery.
Talking of public, citizens can now request to view the spider at the reserve’s visitor centre, with people flocking from far and wide to check out this rare discovery. Cave spiders usually live in the dark, maybe this one is wearing shades! They are normally found in places where there is little or no daylight and eat woodlice, flies and various other small insects.
The spider is a female spider, and is guarding it’s egg. The egg looks like a cotton wool ball and contains up to 300 spider eggs. The mother spider will look after the egg until she dies, but by next spring the babies will appear and go off to make new homes of their own, but more than likely in the dark like the rest of their species. this is a true one off and has become quite a talking point at the nature reserve in Suffolk.
Ian Barthorpe, from RSPB Minsmere, said –
Although cave spiders are probably not uncommon, because of their habitat requirements of total darkness they’re not often seen and so are very under-recorded. No-one really knows how many we have in the UK, so finding one here at Minsmere is a real treat. This spider wont be around for much longer – she’s done all the hard work and will soon die – so anyone who wants to see her better come soon.
The RSPB flagship nature reserve in Suffolk is one of the finest places to view wildlife in the UK. With a great cross section of woodland, wetland and coastal views, it’s the perfect place to visit rare birds throughout the year. If you would like to learn more about the work of the RSPB or would like to purchase a membership to visit site like Minsmere, check out our dedicated page for more information on how you can help to keep Britain great.
