Picture your worst nightmare. There’s a not insignificant chance that you are currently imagining huge spiders with really spindly legs and loads of eyes. We hate to inform you that this nightmare may become reality soon.
Okay, not quite. Human sized spiders do not (yet) exist, thank goodness, but there is currently a surge in the populations of fen raft spiders, sometimes referred to as ‘rat-sized spiders’ due to their thick bodies.
A couple of years ago fen rafts were on the verge of extinction, but now, thanks to the RSPB’s conservation efforts they’re making a comeback to our marshes. Tim Strudwick, who works for the charity, told the Independent that the insects ‘have an important role in maintaining the rich aquatic diversity found in the grazing ditches on our reserves’.
The spiders tend to stay in their natural habitats, but if you’re still alarmed by the prospect of coming toe-to-toe with one of these biblical creatures, here’s everything you could possibly need to know.
How big are fen raft spiders?
About the size of a rat, if rats were way smaller than they actually are.
We’ll admit; calling these critters ‘rat sized’ is a bit of an exaggeration. They generally grow to be the size of an average man’s hand, which is still uncomfortably large for a spider, but their 8cm (3-inch) span is not quite as big as the rodents tend to grow.
They are big enough to hunt fish and tadpoles, but we’re not talking man-eaters here.
Do they bite?
We’re sorry to tell you that yes, these things bite. And it can be pretty sore when they do.
Don’t get too scared though. Their bites are not harmful to humans and tend not to be more painful than a bee sting, so there’s nothing to fear except discomfort.
Where have fen raft spiders been spotted in the UK?
The eight-legged beasts only really like wet, marshy areas, and they’re mostly concentrated in three specific areas across the UK: East Anglia, Sussex and south Wales. They don’t stray too far from their homes and don’t really like humans anyway, so as long as you stay away from the Sussex bogs you’ll almost certainly never actually come face to face with one.
If you're an arachno-phile and you want to check out the fen raft spiders in all their rat-sized glory, Tim Strudwick recommends that now is the best time of year to head to a nature reserve and see if you can spot any.
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