"Perth & Kinross"
Page last revised:
29th October 2004
To aid you in your search for new reports, we've added a quick select menu below.
| DATE: | ANIMAL: | LOCATION: |
| 26th December 2002 | SPIDERS | Strathspey |
| 19th July 2004 | WOLF SPIDERS | Abernethy |
Abernethy
WOLF SPIDERS
Miniature Wolf’s in our Countryside
Wolf spiders have been found at
Abernethy after a experimental management of heather burning was taking place.
Mr Cowie from the RSPB Scotland who discovered the Spiders said "This is the first time this wolf spider has been found in the UK but we suspect it could exist more widely than just at Abernethy. It's also nice to think that deep in the ancient Highland woods, there are still wolves of a sort lurking. Unlike most other species, wolf spiders do not capture their prey by spinning a web and waiting for their victims to become entangled. These voracious predators simply jump on their unsuspecting quarry before devouring them. They tend to eat other smaller invertebrates and even other spiders, and their 'wolf' title is well deserved. The news is very exciting for us because it adds to our knowledge of the species diversity that exists in Scotland," he said also said “ These voracious predators simply jump on their unsuspecting quarry before devouring them.”
Wolf spiders are native to Australia and hide in burrows which is covered with leaf litter, they are a nocturnal spider hunt their prey at night, they are not very aggressive but will bite if they are threatened they are poisonous but it is not lethal to humans.
They can grow up to 5mm long with a leg span of 1.5cm.
(Source: BBC News - 19th
July 2004)
Re-Written By: Cher Jenkins
File: 2004-258
Ref
No: 1784
Strathspey
SPIDERS (Wabasso quaestio)
Female of the species
The female of the money spider species, Wabasso quaestio, has been discovered
on an RSPB nature reserve in the Scottish Highlands. The precise site is the
Insh Marshes reserve in Strathspey. It is the first time the 1.5 mm long female
has been found in Britain. The male was first found here in 1999, having been
discovered in Northern Canada in the 1930s and subsequently in other northern
regions around the world. The Scottish site is the most southerly siting point
to date.
Ian Dawson of the RSPB,
said: "We've known about the presence of the male spiders for some years
now, but no-one has ever found the female of the species which has baffled
us. "Now we can confirm their presence at our Insh Marshes Reserve. We
are quite relieved for the males, knowing they have company." Dawson
has made another rare discovery at Insh Marshes, finding one of Britain's
two endemic species of spider - Semljicola caliginosus. This is only found
in a few scattered regions of Scotland and northern England.
26th December 2002
(Source: Ananova News)
Written by: Paul Williams
File: 2002-152
Ref:
1218
N.B. We at Beastwatch UK pride ourselves for trying to write only truthful accounts of all events recorded here, if you know of any reports within these pages to be incorrectely presented then please accept our appologies and contact us immediately letting us know the true facts behind the report, as it is not our intention to write any untruths here.
If you have any further information on any of these, or any other reports for this or other areas, then please let us know
Thank you
Chris Mullins
Co-ordinator
BEASTWATCH UK
info@beastwatch.co.uk