Yep - you read the headline. ‘Zombie’ spiders have been found in the UK. Arachnophobes, this might not be the article for you.
‘Zombie’ spiders might sound scary – but don’t worry your pretty little heads. Scientists have assured us we’re under no threat, and that they're completely harmless to humans. So, what exactly is a ‘zombie’ spider? And where have they been found in the UK?
The arachnids become ‘zombified’ after being infected by a parasitic fungus called gibellula attenboroughii (named after everyone’s fave naturalist, Sir David Attenborough). The fungus latches onto spiders in certain dark, damp spaces – and in this case, spiders in cave systems across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have become infected. The parasitic culprit was confirmed by scientists from the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI), the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the Natural History Museum of Denmark.
The eight-legged zombies have been found hanging on walls and ceilings of White Fathers’ Caves, a series of caves spanning County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland and County Cavan in the Republic.
Scientists say that the fungus changes spiders’ behaviour by altering dopamine levels and forcing them away from their safe environments to be exposed and left for dead. The eerie phenomenon is only affecting orb-weaving spider species right now, but CABI scientists are still studying how the fungus could affect future spider species and populations across the UK.
The morbid fungus is being compared to the ophiocordyceps fungus in the Amazon, which was previously discovered in Brazil after finding zombified ants going through the same death-lingering struggle. This was actually the inspiration behind The Last of Us, the post-apocalyptic video game-turned-telly show starring Bella Ramsay and everyone’s favourite ‘daddy’ Pedro Pascal, where a fungus infects human beings, turning hosts into zombies.
Thankfully, we are far from this reality – for now.
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