wasp spider

[mrs fish]

Originally Posted by mrs fish

I wondered if anyone could tell me how they spread ?

Are the eggs dispersed somehow ?

How did they cross the Channel ?

Anyone ?

I need to find out myself for a childrens enviroment club

[Venger]

Sorry Mrs Fish, missed this one

Argiope bruennichi, produced several egg sacs, the spiderlings overwinter in the egg sac and leave it around May.
They usually disperse via 'ballooning', and if the weather conditions are right can float for miles - even enough to cover the channel from France.
Not all balloon, some never do, they will occupy areas around where they hatched and sometimes the ballooners don't get far (even with multiple attempts).

Hope this helps

[mrs fish]

Great help thanks

[naturegirl]

But.............

They may 'Balloon' onto a car bound for Britain from the French side of the Channel...........

Naturegirl

[Lako]

hello i found a female in surrey, i was amazed by its colours i had a guess that it was called a bee spider before i looked it up, not too far off.

plus i got to see it catch something i wouldn't want to get on the end of those gnashers.

[Lako]

Originally Posted by aeshna5

Always worth sending records to the local recorder- new arrivals worth recommending + common species tend to be under recorded + today's common species can be tomorrow's rarities- such as House sparrows or Small Tortoiseshells in some places.

The Wasp Spiders will probably die off in next few weeks as they overwinter as eggs in the distinctive egg sacs. How about leaving a corner of the meadow uncut which would be a refuge for various invertebrates?

Kew, with advice from Butterfly Conservation, cut a lot of their long grass areas on a 2 year rotation, so that in any year a good proportion of long grass is remaining.

does anyone know who to tell and what website, if it is a website.
thanks

[JohnPH]

I've been stung by wasp spiders for many years. First one I saw was in the New Forest at least twenty years ago. Have found quite a lot in north Suffolk since moving up here, mainly on heathland (grassy bits) and in estuarine grasses. They seem to be a bit ephemeral, not staying in one place for more than three years. After much searching have just found three in grass along the Blyth estuary. Make lovely photos!

[JohnPH]

I've found these for the last 5 years at three locations in north Suffolk but have yet to see any immatures. They don't seem to spend more than three years in the same place, which is odd. Two locations are estuarine grassland, the third heath. Does any one know when the eggs hatch?