46
The Essex Naturalist
David Carr found the Nationally Scarce orb-web spider Araniella inconspicua
at West Hanningfield on the 9th May 1998. David has beaten mature specimens
of this species off oak while the buds were in the early stages of opening (Carr,
1998), much earlier than the period when its commoner relatives A. cucurbitina
and A. opistographa are mature. David has been analysing records for this rare
spider and the data seems to suggest an early maturity date for this species.
The author was taken by J. Lamoureux to see a population of Argiope
bruennichi (see cover photograph) discovered by his father last year. The
location is near Grays, only about one mile from the author's home. The
population was found to be astonishingly large, with hundreds of individuals
seen in a rough grassland area. The site is an old sand pit which has been
restored and the sides re-graded. The grassland is relatively tall and has not been
cut, allowing the Argiope to make its webs undisturbed and to have an
abundance of grasshopper nymphs available for prey. With the size of the area
and the number of individuals seen in different parts of the site there must be
thousands of Argiope present. Rather underfed and depauperate specimens were
even seen in their webs amongst wheat near the edges of the footpath that runs
through the adjacent arable field.
This follows on from the discovery of the spider at two other locations in
South and North Essex last year (Harvey 1997) and the assumption must be that
populations remain undiscovered elsewhere in Essex. Indeed since the spider was
previously confined in Britain to within a few miles of the south coast of
England the likelihood is that it will be found in other sites across southern
England. The spread of this species could be another example of the effect of a
changing climate associated with global warming, in particular longer summers
with warmer autumns which would favour late summer maturing spiders such as
Argiope.
References
Bratton, J.H., 199. British Red Data Books: 3. Invertebrates other than insects. JNCC.
Carr, D., 1998. Notes on some new and interesting records in Hertfordshire. Spider Recording Scheme
Newsletter 31: 3-4.
Harvey, P., Carr, D. & Read, H., 1993. Further Records of Theridion pinastri L. Koch, 1872. Newsl Br.
Arachnol. Soc. 67: 4-5.
Harvey, P. & Carr, D., 1996. Further Records of Theridion pinastri L. Koch, 1872 from Essex. Newsl. Br.
Arachnol. Soc. 75: 4.
Harvey, P.R., 1997. Some interesting spider records for 1996 & 1997. Essex Naturalist 14 (New series): 44-48.
- , 1998. A remarkable jumping spider found in Essex and the imminent loss of another important site in the
East Thames Corridor. Essex Field Club Newsletter26 : 14.
Jones, D., 1992. Theridion pinastri L. Koch, 1872 rediscovered in Surrey. Newsl. Br. Arachnol. Soc. 65: 6-7.
Merrett, P., 1990. A Review of the Nationally Notable Spiders of Great Britain. No 127. Nature Conservancy
Council.