Springwatch 2024 viewers were left open-mouthed at a segment hosted by Chris Packham last night (June 6). Some viewers even pleaded with Chris to get the scenes off their screens.
Last night’s episode saw Chris and co-star Michaela Strachan explain how spiders mate. Spider expert Roy Dennis joined the pair to talk through exactly how spiders continue to reproduce.
However, the segment didn’t go down well with plenty of Springwatch viewers…
Springwatch 2024 fans tell Chris Packham ‘this is gross’
Chris stepped the wildlife lesson up a notch, by introducing a model of a large spider. He explained: “On my hand, I have a facsimile of that wolf spider and my fingers represent its pedipalps.
“I am flexing them up and down, attracting a female. This is making sure she is in the mood to mate, it can be a risky business. Let’s imagine he’s got to the point the female is going to be receptive, how does he transfer his reproductive matter?
Eughhh this is gross!! Get the spiders out of this TV show.
“He produces what we call a sperm web. He spins this using his spinnerets and another organ on the underside of his body and then he climbs on top of it and deposits his sperm onto that web.
“Now that’s not going to be much use if it’s just left lying around, so what he does he then uses those highly modified pedipalps to actually suck up the sperm into the pedipalps, and they have hollow tubes inside.
“Then he needs to get it to the female. So he approaches the female very carefully… he has to got to pass it underneath her body.”
Despite the segment being extremely informative, they were also skin-crawling for some. In fact, several social media users pleaded with Chris to end the scenes altogether!
Viewers react
One simply exclaimed: “Skins crawling!!” whilst another chimed in: “Ewwwwww can we stop with the spider content please.”
A third stated: “Trying to be less horrified by spiders but I can’t even look at the model of the wolf spider.”
A fourth pleaded: “Eughhh this is gross!! Get the spiders out of this TV show.”
Another agreed: “Enough of the spider content please!”
A sixth penned: “I know this is natural and stuff but I can’t but feel a little uncomfortable… I hate spiders at the best of times.”
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