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Jumping spider spotted in Dublin in 'first Irish sighting'

A jumping spider that’s not native to Ireland has been discovered on a bush in Dublin. The Phil...
Stephen McNeice
Stephen McNeice

15.06 24 Jan 2020


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Jumping spider spotted in Dublin in 'first Irish sighting'


Stephen McNeice
Stephen McNeice

15.06 24 Jan 2020


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A jumping spider that’s not native to Ireland has been discovered on a bush in Dublin.

The Philaeus chrysops is a type of jumping spider, just around a centimetre long, with males boasting a bright red abdomen.

It's normally seen in the southern half of Europe, the US and Asia, and is not harmful to people.

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One of the spiders has now been spotted sitting on a bush in a garden in Monkstown - with experts saying we can expect more varieties of spiders in Ireland as temperatures rise.

It's believed to be the first such sighting in the country.

Collie Ennis, a researcher at Trinity College's Zoology Department, explained: "A lot of times you'd expect to find these imported on plants - but when you see them outside that indicates they're moving in naturally, so to speak.

"Spiders have a trick - they'll actually throw a web from a web from their abdomen into the air, and they'll drift off... they can travel hundreds of thousands of miles like this."

He said the red-bellied creature most likely made its way here in a shipping container or on a plant – but with warming temperatures, the spiders are moving north and showing up in the UK.

He added: "Are they harmful to people? Absolutely not: in fact, they're very placid little spiders.

"The males have the lovely red abdomen that they use for display - I think they're handsome little chaps."

Anyone who spots one of the spiders is being asked to take a picture and to let experts know.

Main image: File photo of a species of jumping spider called Philaeus chrysops. Picture by Thom Quine via Wikimedia Commons, CC by 3.0

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