Rare wasp spider sighting sparks climate concerns

By Lauren Wilkin

A large wasp spider has been spotted in Cheshire for the first time - and experts are calling it a "climate refugee."

The large yellow-and-black spider was spotted during a biodiversity survey on Chester Zoo estate.

It has been confirmed as the first-ever wasp spider found in the northwest, by an expert from the British Arachnological Society.

They are 2-3 cm across the body and spin ornate webs. These webs are usually found in grassland and heathland, and they attach their silk egg-sacs to the grasses.

Experts say they are completely harmless to humans, despite their shocking appearance.

The spider, nicknamed 'Wendy' by the zoo team, is among a number of species whose ranges are moving northwards as they respond to a warming world.

Ruby Merriman, Chester Zoo's estate biodiversity manager, said: "We were really thrilled to find Wendy. She's a beautiful and fascinating species, and recording a wasp spider in Cheshire for the first time is really exciting.

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"Wasp spiders are slowly moving north as their southern ranges in Europe warm too quickly for them to adapt.

"Some conservation organizations refer to animals driven to migrate by climate change as 'climate refugees' – which is a good term. They are moving because of human activity, and we need to make space for them."

The zoo's wider estate, which spans 205 hectares, includes wet meadows, ponds, reedbeds, species-rich grasslands, woodlands, orchards and hedgerows, support a wide range of wildlife.

This includes key UK species, including harvest mice, which are listed on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened, great crested newts and badgers.

It is also a nesting site for barn owls and hosts dozens of dragonfly, moth and butterfly species.

The zoo said that although Wendy sparked a lot of interest with their team, her arrival is a reminder that climate change is already impacting UK species.

Scott Wilson, head of field programs at Chester Zoo, said: "It's exciting to see new species like Wendy on site, but her arrival is part of a broader, more worrying trend.

"Our conservationists work across the world, and we are witnessing the impacts of climate change in real time, from droughts in Chile to floods in Indonesia. It is a major threat to biodiversity.

"When mountain snows thaw unseasonably, montane forests dry out and small islands face rising sea levels, the species that depend on them must disperse or die. There is a causal link between habitat loss and climate change, and both are already driving species to extinction.

"European spiders are among many species finding it harder to persist in their traditional ranges as the climate shifts. Wendy is a reminder UK biodiversity is not immune to this."