Welcome to BAS membership
Membership of the British Arachnological Society (BAS) is open to everyone interested in arachnids, from beginners to professional academic arachnologists, in the UK and overseas, and therefore we provide a wide range of content in our publications, website and activities.
(Membership is not available to institutions (libraries, universities, etc) - they must take out a subscription to the Society's publications.)
The BAS is the only UK society devoted to the study of all spiders, harvestmen, pseudoscorpions, as well as 'Tarantulas', scorpions, and other groups. We continue to grow our public profile, with increased media coverage and events attendance, promoting the study and understanding of spiders and other arachnids. We can only do this with the direct help of our enthusiastic members. We manage the Spider and Harvestman Recording Schemes, which map the distribution of British species, as well as recording their habitats and life cycles. Our expert knowledge and advice to other bodies, including governmental, helps to underpin the conservation of the UK's rare arachnid species.
We have three membership categories - UK Membership, Overseas Membership and Digital Membership. Those opting for either of the first two receive paper copies of our publications (as well as having online access) whereas those joining as digital members can only view or download the publications as electronic files. The cost of Digital Membership is the same wherever you are located in the world.
All memberships run from January to December in any year, so renewal is always due at the start of the calendar year.
New membership is effective from 1st January of the current year and so the new member will receive all copies of the Newsletter and Arachnology that have already been published in the current year as a 'catch-up'. However, anyone joining after 1st September in any year are effectively joining for the following calendar year and enjoy free membership for the remainder of the current year (but do not receive paper copies of earlier publications).
Benefits of membership
- The Newsletter - subscription to our popular members' publication, issued three times per year.
- Arachnology, The journal of the British Arachnological Society - subscription to our international academic journal, issued three times per year.
- Online access to Arachnology and the Newsletter - as well as the print issues above, you can access all copies of the journal and the Newsletter as PDF files.
- Regional Coordinators and local mentors provide direct local help to members with the development of their spider identification skills, and organise field trips, training workshops and public events. Our events pages include details of these activities around the country and throughout the year. (England, Scotland, Wales only)
- Arachnologists' Handbook - this comprehensive introduction and reference source for studying spiders is available FREE to all members when they join the Society (a benefit extended to non-UK members from January 2016). Revised in 2019 as the Third Edition, it is also available to existing members as a FREE download in the Members' Area of the website. Hard copies can also be purchased for £6 (members) or £10 (non-members). Please add postage and packing to these prices at £2 for UK addresses; £6 for European addresses and £8 for the rest of the world.
- Members' Forum - Google email discussion group allows BAS members, including academics around the world, to exchange comments, Q&A, photos for ID, advice, notices, in fact anything of arachnological interest.
- BAS grants Access to apply to two BAS small grant schemes for help with fieldwork costs and attendance at courses and conferences.
- BAS website - provides a wealth of information, members facilities, and access to the Spider and Harvestman Recording Schemes. It is regularly updated with links to the latest world-wide arachnological news, sites and scientific papers. As well as being the central BAS reference source, the website can now be used as the hub of your online arachnology surfing. Members can have their own websites linked directly from our website.
- Members' Area - access to various members-only online facilities, including our extensive and searchable online library of pdf publications and scientific papers as well as the digital copies of our publications. New facilities are added regularly to the members' area.
- Reprint library and slide library - access to the large BAS library, housed at Liverpool Museum, and the loan service.
If you have any questions, please contact the Membership Development Officer, email at the foot of this page.
Membership Details
Annual Membership Rates (January to December)
UK Membership: £25.00
Overseas Membership: £30.00
Digital Membership: £20.00
- Join by Direct Debit (our preferred option) - via GoCardless (UK accounts holders only. Please also send to us separately your Gift Aid Declaration, if applicable)
- Join Online - join online via Paypal with your debit card, credit card, or own PayPal account (and please also send to us separately your Gift Aid Declaration, if applicable)
- Join by Cheque or Bank Transfer - just print off the Membership form, fill it in and send to us with your cheque, or advice of bank transfer (and Gift Aid Declaration, if applicable)
- Gift Aid Declaration - UK Members Only - allows us to claim back the tax you have paid on the amount of your membership subscription. It is worth up to an extra £5.75 to us, at no extra cost to you! Just print off the form, fill it in and send to us.
Our Data Protection Policy
Download and read our data protection policy.