THE SPIDERS OF SUFFOLK A . RUSSELL-SMITH
T h e first c o m p l e t e a c c o u n t of Suffolk spiders was p r o d u c e d by the late W . S. B r i s t o w e o v e r f o r t y years ago (Bristowe, 1940). Since that time t h e n u m b e r of w o r k e r s w h o h a v e collected spiders in t h e county has greatly increased so that to d a t e t h e n u m b e r of species known f r o m Suffolk has almost d o u b l e d . P e r h a p s t h e g r e a t e s t stimulus to work o n spiders in Suffolk has b e e n the field c o u r s e s regularly held at F i a t f o r d Mill since 1953. It was h e r e that t h e Fiatford Mill S p i d e r G r o u p was f o r m e d in 1958, which itself was the nucleus of the p r e s e n t British A r a c h n o l o g i c a l Society. U n d e r the leadership initially of G . H . L o c k e t a n d D . W . M a c k i e and later of D r . J. A . L. C o o k e a n d J. R . P a r k e r (see C o o k e , 1962, 1963) these courses have laid a firm f o u n d a t i o n to o u r k n o w l e d g e of o u r f a u n a . A n o t h e r i m p o r t a n t source of records has been t h e ecological surveys c o n d u c t e d by D r . E . D u f f e y a n d small g r o u p s of v o l u n t e e r s in b o t h S u f f o l k a n d N o r f o l k which have focussed particularly on w e t l a n d h a b i t a t s . A s a result of the work of these and o t h e r collectors o u r k n o w l e d g e of t h e spiders of Suffolk is, at least in faunistic terms, fairly c o m p l e t e a l t h o u g h n e w species continue to be r e c o r d e d . With t h e recent p u b l i c a t i o n of distribution m a p s for all British spiders ( L o c k e t , Millidge and M e r r e t t , 1974) t h e time s e e m s ripe for a review of the Suffolk f a u n a . The habitats of Suffolk spiders T h e m o s t intensively studied habitats in Suffolk have b e e n the heaths a n d the w e t l a n d s , particularly fens. M o s t of these lie within t w o relatively narrow b a n d s of light soils along t h e eastern s e a b o a r d on the o n e h a n d (the Sandling a r e a ) a n d o n t h e w e s t e r n b o r d e r of t h e c o u n t y on the o t h e r . T h e latter area i n c l u d e s t h e extensive h e a t h l a n d s of the Breck region a n d the fens of t h e Lark Valley. A n i m p o r t a n t exception is the small g r o u p of ' h e a d w a t e r fens' that f o r m t h e w a t e r s h e d of t h e W a v e n e y a n d Little O u s e river systems of which R e d g r a v e F e n is t h e best k n o w n . It is p r o b a b l y fair to say that the heathlands a n d f e n s of S u f f o l k have received m o r e attention f r o m arachnologists than all o t h e r h a b i t a t s p u t t o g e t h e r , a bias at least partly justified by their extremely rieh a n d i n t e r e s t i n g f a u n a s . A n o t h e r i m p o r t a n t g r o u p of habitats a r e those of the coastal region and i n c l u d e s a n d d u n e s , shingle b e a c h e s and saltmarshes. T h e s e habitats have r e c e i v e d m o s t a t t e n t i o n in t h e s o u t h e r n p a r t of the county during field courses b a s e d at F i a t f o r d Mill. A t least two species new to science and a f u r t h e r two n e w t o Britain h a v e b e e n described f r o m coastal habitats in Suffolk since 1950 a n d t h e y will u n d o u b t e d l y repay f u r t h e r study. By contrast t h e central b o u l d e r - c l a y p l a t e a u (High Suffolk) has received little attention f r o m a r a c h n o l o g i s t s . In p a r t this is d u e to the fact that most of this area is u n d e r intensive a r a b l e agriculture a n d consequently p o o r in natural or semi-natural h a b i t a t s . D e s p i t e this t h e r e a r e at least two habitat types in this part of the
Trans.
Suffolk
Nat. Soc. 18 part 3.