Alison, Glenn and Colin from the BNHS have recently been regularly searching for two different species, Glenn for a Short Eared Owl and Colin for a Wasp Spider. The Short Eared Owl has yet to be found but more luck was had with the Wasp Spider. On a particular Thursday Colin received a telephone call from Alison to say that she had found one in a Laindon garden. Whilst cutting some long grass she had stumbled upon a beautiful wasp spider patiently sitting in it’s web waiting for a small grasshopper or cricket to jump in. Colin immediately dashed round and was delighted to see that it was still in the same spot, Alison and her friend took some photographs, one of which is shown. The interesting thing about this spider is that up until about 25 years ago this species was rarely found in Essex, however, now its range has increased northwards from its stronghold in the south and can be found in other parts of East Anglia. It would appear that climate change has played a big part in the way this species is gradually spreading north. Photograph by Alison Mathews
This article is an abridged version of the one published in the BNHS Summer Bulletin 2025