Posties join in fun to promote Royal Mail’s eight-legged collectables
Web alert! Arachnophobes need to look away now as Royal Mail has been having fun scaring posties following the launch of its latest special stamps featuring British spiders.
The eight-legged creepy-crawlies may have a bad reputation, but the original artwork by wildlife illustrator Richard Lewington has been turned into 10 beautiful images – and it’s the fourth time his detailed drawings have featured on special stamps following Butterflies in 2013, Bees in 2015, and 2020’s Brilliant Bugs.
This time round, Royal Mail staff joined in the promotion on social media, being filmed jumping at the joke spider in a box, as can be seen in the video above, and also telling their favourite jokes about the scuttlers, which can be seen below.
“Many people are scared of spiders, but these colourful creatures deserve a second look,” said RM’s director of external affairs and policy David Gold. “They perform a vital role in nature and have fascinating strategies for survival. As these stamps show, there’s far more to spiders than the hairy cartoon version we love to hate!”
The five first-class stamps feature the ladybird, candy-striped, wasp, zebra and heather crab spiders, while second class has sand bear, cucumber, woodland jumping, four-spotted orbweb, and nurseryweb spider.
Appropriately released in time for the spooky spidery season of Halloween, the usual human reaction to them is one of fear and anxiety, probably due to the large, dark and hairy house spider being the species people in the UK encounter most often.
British spiders are fascinating, complex creatures and deserve a better look, some are rare such as the ladybird spider which is found in only one locality, while the heather crab spider is restricted to just a few areas of lowland heath in southern England.
Others, such as the zebra spider and the cucumber spider, are commonly found in gardens, while the tentlike web of the nurseryweb spider is a common sight on road verges and unmanaged grassland throughout much of England during the late spring.
The four-spotted orbweb and the wasp spider are both large and very colourful and among the most striking of the British contingent, while the candy-striped and woodland jumping spiders are found throughout the UK but have rather secretive lives, hidden away in their leafy surroundings.
And the sand bear spider is also widespread, but it’s very effective camouflage allows it to blend in superbly with its sandy haunts.
The spiders found in the UK feed almost exclusively on invertebrates and perform a vital role in controlling pests, particularly in the domestic environment.
The collectable stamps are available now in a set from Royal Mail’s website or on general sale through post offices.
