Redland pupils investigate spiders myth

The idea that spiders are afraid of conkers is nothing but an old chestnut, say a group of schoolgirl scientists in Bristol.

Pupils of Redland High School's Nature Club decided to investigate whether the practice of placing conkers was an old wives' tale. They were taking up a challenge from the Royal Society of Chemistry, which is offering the public a prize of £300 for the best evidence.

The girls devised their own experiment to test the hypothesis. With help from teacher Mark Ehrlich, they obtained a circular "choice chamber" and placed a pinecone, a beechnut and a horse chestnut in three of its four compartments. The spiders ignored the nuts.