Spiders of the Isle of Man
This site is made on the Isle of Man, so here’s what Manx Wildlife Trust and the British spider checklist say about our own island.
How many?
Manx Wildlife Trust says 235 to 240 spider species have been recorded on the Isle of Man. Manx Wildlife Trust: Manx State of Nature 2024, invertebrates · checked 30 Oct 2026 It compares that with 670 British species, and expects a few more to be found on the island, especially tiny money spiders. Manx Wildlife Trust: Manx State of Nature 2024, invertebrates · checked 30 Oct 2026
The 2019 British and Irish spider checklist counted 212 species recorded from the Isle of Man, all also found in England and Wales. Lavery 2019, A revised checklist of the spiders of Great Britain and Ireland, Arachnology 18(3) (British Arachnological Society) · checked 30 Oct 2026 The Isle of Man is included in the British and Irish checklist; the Channel Islands are not. Lavery 2025, The spiders of Great Britain and Ireland checklist, Arachnology 20(3) (British Arachnological Society)
- Manx Wildlife Trust says 235 to 240 spider species have been recorded on the Isle of Man. Manx Wildlife Trust: Manx State of Nature 2024, invertebrates · checked 30 Oct 2026
- The 2019 British and Irish spider checklist counted 212 species recorded from the Isle of Man, all also found in England and Wales. Lavery 2019, A revised checklist of the spiders of Great Britain and Ireland, Arachnology 18(3) (British Arachnological Society) · checked 30 Oct 2026
The checklist figure is from 2019; Manx Wildlife Trust’s figure is more recent. Records are still being added, especially for tiny money spiders. Every disagreement we found →
Where they live
On the island, spiders are found everywhere from salt marsh to rough grassland and scrub. A handful of species live on the shore. Manx Wildlife Trust: Manx State of Nature 2024, invertebrates
Manx Wildlife Trust counts spiders, harvestmen and pseudoscorpions as the island’s arachnids. Manx Wildlife Trust: Manx State of Nature 2024, invertebrates The island also has one pseudoscorpion that lives between the tides. Manx Wildlife Trust: Manx State of Nature 2024, invertebrates
A survey in Onchan
In October 2024, the Ellan Vannin Invertebrate Group found the pirate spider Ero furcata in the grounds of Government House, Onchan. It specialises in eating other spiders, and is one of two Ero species found on the island so far. Manx Wildlife Trust: Ellan Vannin Invertebrate Group field report, Government House grounds, Onchan, 19 October 2024
Metellina segmentata, an orb-web spider, is very common on the Isle of Man in low plants and shrubs. Manx Wildlife Trust: Ellan Vannin Invertebrate Group field report, Government House grounds, Onchan, 19 October 2024 The same survey found tiny money spiders such as Erigone atra in leaf litter and dead wood. Manx Wildlife Trust: Ellan Vannin Invertebrate Group field report, Government House grounds, Onchan, 19 October 2024
It also found Opilio canestrinii, a very long-legged harvestman that arrived in the British Isles fairly recently, and has been found on the island before. Manx Wildlife Trust: Ellan Vannin Invertebrate Group field report, Government House grounds, Onchan, 19 October 2024
Tiny travellers
About 280 of Britain’s spiders are tiny money spiders. British Arachnological Society factsheet: Essential spider info · checked 30 Oct 2026 The smallest money spiders have a leg span of little more than two millimetres. Natural History Museum, London: Spiders in your home
In 2018, University of Bristol scientists showed that money spiders can take off on electric fields like those in the air, even with no wind at all. University of Bristol, 5 July 2018: Spiders go ballooning on electric fields
Manx Wildlife Trust runs wildlife recording on the island. See mwt.im for how to send in what you find.
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