Summary
This report summarises a series of casual surveys of 11 lowland bogs in Cheshire and Lancashire over the summer and early autumn of 2018. The primary survey method was vacuum sampling – a technique capable of sampling a large proportion of the spider species present in habitats with limited vertical stratification (e.g. bogs).

• Over 200 ‘site first’ species were recorded across the 11 sites.
• 11 of those site firsts were either Nationally Rare or Nationally Scarce and 12 of them were Amber Listed spiders.
• The jumping spider Heliophanus dampfi was recorded at Holcroft Moss – making it the first confirmed site for this spider in England (and confirming previously unverified records of the species made by Alan Scott on the site in 2000).
• The jumping spider Sibianor larae was recorded at Holcroft Moss – the first confirmed record of this species for the UK.
• Spider surveys on Cheshire and Lancashire lowland bogs, detecting bog indicator species, have the potential to predict overall site quality for invertebrates.
• It would be feasible to establish a regular survey protocol based on vacuum sampling to document the recovery of lowland bogs under restoration in Cheshire and Lancashire.
• Holcroft Moss is a nationally important site for spiders and has the potential to be a source for recolonization of nearby bogs such as Risley Moss and Cadishead/Little Woolden Moss.
• The Carbon Landscape Project has the potential to make this a reality.
Separate site accounts are included in the body of the report.

This survey was supported by the Tanyptera Project small grant scheme.

Published 27th January 2018