Sex, Death and Spiders

Warning: This episode contains the unusual mating habits of spiders.
Autumn is the time for spiders, and the colder months mean our eight-legged friends are searching for something vital: sex.
Join arachnologist Anna Maka and author and broadcaster Lucy Cooke to uncover the fascinating and freaky sex lives of spiders and what it teaches us about evolution itself.

[Ad] Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure.
Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more.
Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor.
cotswoldoutdoor.com

Watch a video of this podcast on the National Trust’s YouTube channel:
youtube.com/@nationaltrustcharity/podcasts

Production
Presenter: Rosie Holdsworth
Producer and sound designer: Marnie Woodmeade

Contributors:
Lucy Cooke (lucycooke.tv)
Anna Maka (britishspiders.org.uk/node/27529)

Discover more
You can find Lucy’s book Bitch: On the female of the species here. (lucycooke.tv)
You can find out more about Anna’s work with rare diamond back spiders here. (nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/nottinghamshire-lin…)
Follow us @wildtalesnt Instagram account

If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk