Exotic spiders thriving in UK due to global trade and a warmer climate

Exotic spiders are flourishing in Britain as global trade offers ample opportunities for spider travel and global heating provides an increasingly hospitable climate.

- Patrick Barkham

A jumping spider new to science has just been identified living on the University of Exeter's Penryn campus in Cornwall. The nearest known relative of the 3-4mm-long Anasaitis milesae is found in the Caribbean, making it likely that this tiny species - alongside 17 other non-native jumping spider species - found its way to Britain from distant climes.

Much larger and more noticeable new arrivals include Zoropsis spinimana, popularly known as the false wolf spider, a Mediterranean species that is thriving in houses across London, and the striking-looking green-fanged tube web spider (Segestria florentina), which first got a foothold in Bristol and is now found across southern Britain.

About 50 non-native spiders have been recorded among the 3,500 nonnative species now established in the UK, most of which have been inadvertently introduced by the global movement of goods and people. Only about 10-15% of non-native species are considered "invasive" - including grey squirrels, Japanese knotweed and the Asian or yellow-legged hornet - causing a negative environmental or human impact.