Those who know me know that I love spiders and I’ve been lucky enough recently to be able to have my first little hunt around one of the Oa reserve’s boggiest areas for a very tiny and very uncommon arachnid. When Site Manager, Dave Wood told me that he’d heard the reserve might be suitable habitat for the ‘cloud living spider’ I thought he was joking, I’d definitely never heard of it, but after a little research I found some scant information about this tiny critter. The cloud living spider (Semljicola calignosus) is around just 2mm in length and likes humid moss, grass and leaf litter somewhere in the mountains or near open water, it has never been found on Islay, there are no pictures of it (that I can find) for guidance and it’s rare everywhere, even in Europe where a few of our common species are often found more abundantly. As you can imagine I was slightly overwhelmed when faced with this information and a lot of ground to search through! I felt it was definitely worth a try though and within minutes of looking through one mound of moss and heather near some of the reserve’s drainage ditches I was inundated with tens of miniature spiders, (including one that looks like a mini mint humbug!). Soon after starting all of my collection pots were full with spiders that were completely new to me and I felt pretty excited to get them under the microscope to see what I’d found. As of yet I haven’t found the illusive cloud living spider but I did find lots of interesting spiders that need to be checked and verified by one of my spider mentors. Often arachnids are woefully under-recorded and places like the Oa and Islay as a whole are rich grounds for both budding spider enthusiasts and seasoned arachnologists to make new records. So if you’re visiting one of the reserves on Islay soon just take a moment to wonder at what might be just under your feet.