This Grey Huntsman spider was spotted in the Pandora area in Napier.
This Grey Huntsman spider was spotted in the Pandora area in Napier.
Huntsman spiders are likely establishing themselves in Napier. But they’re not the only crawlies on the move, and more will come as the climate warms. Michaela Gower reports.
A few years ago it was soaring house prices driving an exodus from Auckland to further south.
Now cold-blooded Australian-introduced spiders and other insects are moving down with them, driven by a warming climate.
That’s brought a warning from an arachnid expert, who says there’s plenty to be worried about for local biodiversity.
Cor Vink, associate professor of entomology at Lincoln University, this week noted the potential for the establishment of huntsman spiders in the Napier suburb of Pandora after two sightings nine months apart.
“The major concern is if they spread into natural areas and start feeding on native insects and plants.”
He said the spotted ground swift spider (Nyssus coloripes) originally established in Auckland in 1941, but had since spread throughout the country and now posed a risk to the native katipō - an endangered species of spider.
Other Australian-introduced spiders spreading across the country included bird-dropping spiders, two-spined spiders, white-tailed spiders and white porch spiders, Vink said.
Insects - also Australian-introduced - on the move south at present are the harlequin ladybird, giant willow aphid, magpie moth, and passion vine hopper.
Vink said for some species it was the reverse and the wool carder bee (Anthidium manicatum), which was first found in Napier and Nelson in 2006, had spread to Auckland by 2008 and was now throughout New Zealand.
He said some species could also carry diseases that could spread to humans, animals, and plants. He said the shift in habitat location and establishment in different areas across the country was self-driven, but aided by humans.
“Some move themselves, such as flying insects, and others hitch a ride with human transport.”
Vink said about six new insect species establish themselves in New Zealand every year and one new spider species every two years.
“Most arrive and establish in Auckland because it’s such a busy port city.”
One exception was the little humped spider (Philoponella congregabilis), which was first found in Christchurch in 2014 and is slowly spreading around mid-Canterbury.
He said entomologists had known for a long time that insect and spider distribution could be influenced by changes in climate, but there was no obvious way of predicting which ones would appear next.
Vink said the citizen science website iNaturalist was a useful tool for watching the spread of plants and animals in New Zealand.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
