Hypsosinga heri
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > spider (Araneae) > Spider |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Not Relevant) [VU(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Hypsosinga heri |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Hahn, 1831) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Harvey et al., 2017 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | VU, criteria: D2: no change since review, occurring in GB only at two adjacent Dorset sites and formerly at Wicken Fen, Cambs. (last in 1912). |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Extremely restricted distribution relative to apparent habitat preference |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | This species would not benefit from untargeted management |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Unknown |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Thought to be RE for 102 years before rediscovery at 2 Weymouth sites (formerly at Wicken Fen and possibly unrecorded Berkshire site/s). Found in low vegetation and hanging litter with a consistently high water table. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Autecological research to better characterise habitat requirements and population extent, size and dynamics (related to Action 3)
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Lodmoor, Dorset
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Ensure site managers remain aware of species presence and vulnerability. Update them with Action 1 results to provide any resulting guidance on specific locations/management and inform commissioning of invertebrate survey work (methods likely to detect/damage species, need for retention and examination of spider by-catch when not a survey target). They will be integral to Action 3.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: Unknown
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Lodmoor and Radipole Lake, Dorset
Comments: This species is not mentioned on SSSI citation or on the RSPB website for either reserve.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Start to evaluate translocation to additional site/s to reduce intrinsic vulnerability
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: (Re-)introduction
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites:
Comments: Long time frame suggested because results of autecological study (Action 1) will be an integral part of the evaluation process.
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.