A ‘jumping spider’ has been spotted in a Dublin garden in what is believed to be the first-ever sighting in Ireland.
If this article title has given you vivid flashbacks to the 2002 killer spider film Eight-Legged Freaks, we’re sorry; that movie scarred us too. This probably isn’t the type of headline you expected to see, but there you have it: there’s now at least one red-bellied jumping spider in Ireland, for what is perhaps the first time ever, according to experts.
And if there’s one, surely that means there’s a fair chance there are mo—no, okay—we’re not even going to think about that.
Below we’ll fill you in on how this little guy made his way to the Emerald Isle.
The sighting
The discovery occurred in a garden in Monkstown, Dublin, and it is believed to be the very first time that this eight-legged creature has been spotted in our neck of the woods. Some have labelled the jumping spider spotted in Ireland as “cute” (we aren’t one of them) and others have called it “terrifying” (yeah, that one came from us).
The males of the species have an orange-red stomach like the one spotted here in Ireland, and the females have more of an orange-brown design.
Fun fact: Did you know these spiders can launch their web in the air from their abdomen, thus allowing the wind to carry them for thousands of miles? Because they can. Euugh.
If you’ve suddenly decided to arm yourself with a blowtorch and a pitchfork, we won’t blame you. However, we do have some good news—the jumping spider, a.k.a. “Philaeus Chrysops”, is only a few millimetres in length and is harmless to humans.
This news might not be much of a relief to severe arachnophobes, but what we’re saying is: You can probably put down the blowtorch and rest easy. It won’t harm you.
How did it get here?
These spiders are typically found in warmer climates than ours in Ireland. They normally live in countries such as China, Korea, or those within southern Europe. You’re probably wondering how it actually got here. We were too, until we found out. Now we wish we hadn’t asked.
Collie Ennis, a researcher at Trinity College’s Zoology Department, said: “A lot of times you expect to see these imported on plants, but when you see them outside, that indicates that they are moving in naturally, so to speak.”
Ennis also expounded on that fun fact we mentioned earlier: “Spiders have a trick where they will actually throw a web from their abdomen into the air and they will drift off into the stratosphere, and they can travel hundreds and thousands of miles like this.”
Warming climate
There’s a chance these spiders are moving in naturally due to our warming climate, which means you shouldn’t be surprised if more jumping spiders are spotted in Ireland!
“Lots of invertebrates that couldn’t survive in the UK and Ireland are slowly moving up north from Europe as the habitat becomes warmer,” researcher Ennis told The Journal.
“Of course, this is going to be a recurring issue because as the climate of the country warms, we are going to see many more new species of animals take up residence in Ireland, especially invertebrates, like spiders, who can easily travel in goods and shipping.”
