In the news

Ever since it was formally described from Britain in 1956, Dolomedes plantarius has attracted media attention. In contrast to the largely negative coverage given to spiders in this country, interest in this species has been, for the most part, extremely positive. Its large size, extreme rarity, stunning markings and relatively unusual association with water have all contributed to this. The spider's plight during the increasingly frequent droughts at Redgrave and Lopham Fen from 1976 onward, the potential impact of the 1990s restoration on the Fen, the discovery of two new populations and, particularly, the translocation programme from 2010 onward, all resulted in renewed media interest. In 2010, the fact that the spiderlings parents had been mated, and most of the spiderlings hatched and reared, in a domestic kitchen, was a particularly popular angle, attracting international as well as national media interest and reaching newspapers from Iceland, to the Netherlands and the USA. It is a sad reflection on the popular media, that the great success of the new populations, established by translocation, has received relatively little interest (though see also Sciart).

Links to a selection of media coverage of the spider's conservation story (some items more accurate than others!) are given below:

Theme by Danetsoft and Danang Probo Sayekti inspired by Maksimer