A species of spider found only in Bermuda has been photographed for the first time.

Buglife, a UK-based nature conservation charity, said it had received photographs from Clare Russell, a resident of the island, of the rarely seen Bermuda sac spider.

Danni Sherwood, a senior conservation officer at Buglife, said: “The Bermuda sac spider was only discovered in the 1980s, and until now, was known only from scientific illustrations.

“The fact that we now know what it looks like when alive is important information which will help us with our future research on the island.

“It demonstrates the power of citizen science in furthering our understanding of these little-known species.

“Who knows what else inquisitive members of the public could discover?”

Ms Russell told Buglife: “Having lived in Bermuda my entire life, it is extremely exciting to have noticed this delicate spider previously unseen and unknown to me.

“To contribute to the further understanding of the natural world, and in particular, Bermuda’s, would be a very great honour.”

The Bermuda sac spider, or Anyphaena bermudensis, was described in a 1988 scientific paper after seven females and three males were discovered in Sandys “mostly found while sweeping”.

Buglife said on its website that the photographs were shared with the Department of Environment and National Resources and had created “quite the buzz” among spider researchers.

In a blog post about the photographs, the charity said it has sought to learn more about endemic and native insects in Bermuda and other islands through its Supporting Atlantic Territories Invertebrate Conservation project.

“By understanding where these special species are found, we can identify Important invertebrate areas, and the targeted conservation work needed to secure their futures,” the charity said.

“Understanding more about invertebrates in the territories has never been more pressing, and thanks to the support of citizen scientists, like Clare Russell, we are building a better picture of Bermuda’s wildlife in partnership with local governments and organisations.”

The charity urged Bermuda residents to take part in the project by sharing their own photographs of the island’s invertebrates through the iNaturalist website.

“Every submission will be reviewed and verified by invertebrate experts and add to our growing database of recorded species, strengthening the future work of our project to better understand and protect invertebrates in Bermuda,” the charity said.

Robbie Smith, a curator of the natural history museum at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo, added: “We are excited to conduct these surveys and engage with the public as we need to understand the status of small terrestrial endemic species like this spider, insects like our beach cricket and tiny land snails.”