05/07/2026
Now here's a special one..
This little cutie found itself the iconic face of a huge conservation campaign against big corporate interests in recent years.
Endangered and extremely rare in the UK, the Distinguished jumping spider (Attulus distinguendus) only appears on 2 very small sites along the Thames corridor, one of which was to be turned into a massive 3.5 billion pound theme park (like we need any more of those 🙄), putting this little spider and many other local animal species at serious risk. Environmental charities including Buglife, the RSPB, and the Wildlife Trusts aggressively campaigned to protect the marshland and the area eventually became designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, legally protecting the spider's home.
The development company behind the theme park collapsed and was handed a winding-up order by the High Court in 2025.
Here's to our heroic conservation groups, and to this little arachnid superstar!! 🫶
Taken in Kent, UK.
Canon EOS R7, Laowa RF 90mm 2:1, diffused Godox V860ii.
Manual handheld focus stack (30 exposures).
F/5.6, 1/200s, ISO 200.
Only ever live and unharmed subjects.
©️ Rory J Lewis
https://linktr.ee/invertebrain
