Project to protect 'lost' spider gets funding boost

A conservation project to protect a tiny, critically endangered spider has received government funding.

The diamond-backed spider was thought to be extinct before it was rediscovered by two volunteers at Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire in 2017.

The National Trust has been awarded £50,458 from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) as part of the Species Recovery Programme, run by Natural England.

The charity said the funding would allow it to build on research being carried out in partnership with the British Arachnological Society and help deepen understanding of the spider's behaviour.

Clumber Park is still the only site in Britain where the species, previously thought to be lost, is known to survive, the charity said.

Amy Trewick, assistant land use and nature delivery partner for the National Trust, said: "We're still uncovering the mysteries of this species, from how it arrived at Clumber to why it thrives here.

"We've yet to find a gravid female [female with eggs], so understanding its breeding patterns is a key focus."

The charity said future plans included genetic analysis to trace the spider's origins and surveys of nearby heathlands in Sherwood Forest to find potential new sites.

Surveys are also due to be carried out at Ashdown Forest in Sussex, where the spider was last recorded in 1969, to find a possible hidden or missed population.

Gareth Jones, lead ranger at Clumber Park, said the funding would allow the project to move "from discovery to recovery".

"By understanding what this species needs, we can create the right conditions for it to grow and thrive. Not just here, but potentially beyond Clumber," he said.

Jones added that spiders play a "vital ecological role" as natural pest controllers and help maintain balanced ecosystems.

Dr Helen Smith, from the British Arachnological Society, said: "We have too many critically endangered species in Britain but the future of this smart little spider, apparently restricted to a tiny pocket of heathland in Clumber Park, could not be more precarious.

"This support gives us renewed hope of finding ways to secure its future, not just at Clumber but more widely on heathland in Nottinghamshire and further afield."

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