Scared of spiders? Scientists say the real nightmare is losing them

Science News from research organizations Scared of spiders? Scientists say the real nightmare is losing them Scientists discovered that nearly 90% of North America’s insects and arachnids have no conservation status—revealing a huge blind spot in protecting the tiny creatures that keep ecosystems running. Date: March 14, 2026 Source: University of Massachusetts Amherst Summary: Spiders and insects may not be fan favorites, but they are vital to the health of ecosystems—and scientists barely know how they’re doing. Researchers found that nearly 90% of North America’s insect and arachnid species have no conservation status, leaving their fate largely unknown. Even more striking, most states don’t protect a single arachnid species. The study warns that these overlooked creatures are essential to planetary health and urgently need better monitoring and protection. Share: Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email FULL STORY Lead author Wes Walsh, his tattoo of Agelenopsis pennsylvanica (the Pennsylvanian grass spider) and one of the inspirations for this study, a live Platycryptus undatus (tan jumping spider). Credit: Wes Walsh Members of the arachnid class -- think spiders, scorpions and harvestmen (daddy long legs) -- often trigger feelings of fear or disgust. Despite this reaction, these animals play an essential role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. As global biodiversity declines, including what some researchers describe as an "insect apocalypse," two ecologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst set out to examine how insects and arachnids are doing in the United States. What they uncovered was striking: there are enormous gaps in the available data. Their findings, recently published in PNAS , highlight an urgent need to better study, protect and appreciate insects and arachnids, which form a critical foundation for planetary health. "Insects and arachnids are fundamental for human society," says Laura Figueroa, assistant professor of environmental conservation at UMass Amherst and the study's senior author. "They help with pollination and biological control of pests; they can serve as monitors of air and water quality, and they have worked their way deeply into many cultures throughout the world" -- think of Aragog in the Harry Potter book series, for example. "Many people care about popular charismatic animals on the planet, like lions and pandas, which, justly, have received international conservation attention. Given that insects and arachnids don't usually get the same attention, we wanted to know how they were doing." Nearly 90% of Species Lack Conservation Status To understand the condition of these often overlooked creatures, Figueroa and her graduate student Wes Walsh, the paper's lead author, compiled conservation assessments for the 99,312 known insect and arachnid species living in North America north of Mexico. The results were startling. "Almost 90% -- 88.5% to be precise -- of insect and arachnid species hav