While shooting a documentary at Castle Espie in Northern Ireland in 2021, a film crew came across a dead spider covered in a ...

Ireland is the only place where a unique fungus has been found that infects reclusive spiders in dark caves and turns them into “zombie-like” creatures, according to cave explorer Tim Fogg.

A new fungal species found in Northern Ireland targets orb-weaving spiders, altering their behavior and creating a “zombie” effect. The first infected spider was discovered on the ceiling of ...

As someone who explores caves for a living, Fogg would often see little globs of fuzzy white fungus on the walls of Ireland's subterranean networks, sometimes with spider legs sticking out of them.

The researchers found the Gibellula attenboroughii spiders living in cave systems across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To date, no other sightings of the species have been recorded.

Thankfully, so far, it's only been found in spiders located in several cave systems across the island of Ireland, including the Whitefathers' Caves on the Fermanagh/Cavan border. Named after Sir ...