Fish-eating spiders spinning webs as wide as 10 inches on rise in the UK

Massive spiders which spin webs as big as 10 inches wide are on the rise in the UK despite almost becoming extinct in recent years.

Fen raft spiders, which eat fish, are one of the biggest types of the arachnid in Britain and can grow as huge as a human palm.

Until 2010, there were only three known populations in the UK, leaving them on the verge of extinction, the Liverpool Echo reports.

However, an RSPB project helped populations to “thrive,” and the British total is now believed to exceed thousands of females.

The wildlife charity refer to them as “strikingly beautiful creatures” which live in ditches and pools, eating small fish and larvae.

Thankfully for the arachnophobes among us, you aren’t likely to find any under your bed, but you may see them in your garden.

Mid Yare nature reserves site manager Tim Strudwick said: “This is one of the UK’s rarest invertebrates, as beautiful as any, and we are really proud of the part our reserve and our team has played in its recovery.

“The females are impressive in size, but elegant and quite beautiful, even to an arachnophobe (like me).”

“The spiders are only seen in the grazing marsh ditches, and are fairly shy, but are easy to find June to September when the mature females have their young.

“They are found mostly away from public access but, for people who do want to see them, the good news is they are increasing and spreading towards the meadows at Strumpshaw where we hope they will soon be visible to visitors.”

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