Wasp spider seen in north of England latest ‘climate refugee’ amid global heating

The Argiope bruennichi, spotted in Cheshire for first time, part of worrying trend that could threaten native species

She is an unlikely harbinger of the climate emergency: a venomous black and yellow spider who spins mysterious patterns in her webs and eats her mates for breakfast.

Native to mainland Europe, north Africa and Asia, the Argiope bruennichi – commonly known as a wasp spider – is rarely seen in the north and west of Britain. But a fully grown female has been spotted in Cheshire for the first time by conservationists from Chester zoo, who stumbled across the large, brightly striped arachnid in a rewilded field.