Killer spiders on rampage in Britain

[cronus]

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest- ... in-Britain

Killer spiders on rampage in Britain

There has been a terrifying surge in the number of sightings of Britain's most poisonous spider - the false widow - in London and Essex in the past month.

More than 50 people have reported seeing the venomous arachnid, the cousin of the infamous black widow, in the past few weeks alone.

Amanda Armitage, 31, told of how her five-year-old daughter had one in her HAND.

She said that her husband saw the distinctive "white skull image" on the spider's back and took swift action.

Mrs Armitage, from Essex, said: "He had seen the story about the false widow going around Facebook and when he saw what Emily was holding, there was a look of terror on his face and he whacked it out of Emily’s hand."

The venomous creatures, which arrived from the Canary Islands 140 years ago, used to only appear in warmer parts of the country like Devon, Dorset and Cornwall.

But a succession of mild winters have enabled the exotic arachnid to move across the country.

In 2009 Grandmother Lyn Mitchell, 52, almost died when she was bitten by a false widow as she slept in her home in Egremont, Cumbria. She fell into a coma and was on life support in hospital for 26 hours.

(continued)

[klr]

See? Who says global warming isn't happening?

[Faithfree]

The Redback over here is a close relative: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider
Despite living under every outback dunny seat, it's so far failed to wipe out the Australian population.

[klr]

The Redback over here is a close relative: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider
Despite living under every outback dunny seat, it's so far failed to wipe out the Australian population.

Ah, but you Aussies are a hardy lot, living as you do cheek by jowl with a veritable array of nasty creatures.

[mistermack]

The Redback over here is a close relative: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider
Despite living under every outback dunny seat, it's so far failed to wipe out the Australian population.

Ah, but you Aussies are a hardy lot, living as you do cheek by jowl with a veritable array of nasty creatures.

Australians don't get bitten very often. Even animals have standards.

[Cormac]

I think we've had a thread on the (not really lethal) false widow spider already, haven't we?

[Bella Fortuna]

I think we've had a thread on the (not really lethal) false widow spider already, haven't we?

That thread fell into a coma and died within hours.

[klr]

I think we've had a thread on the (not really lethal) false widow spider already, haven't we?

That thread fell into a coma and died within hours.

It just didn't have the legs.

[Bella Fortuna]

I think we've had a thread on the (not really lethal) false widow spider already, haven't we?

That thread fell into a coma and died within hours.

It just didn't have the legs.

Ah, what a tangled web...

[Faithfree]

I think we've had a thread on the (not really lethal) false widow spider already, haven't we?

That thread fell into a coma and died within hours.

It just didn't have the legs.

Ah, what a tangled web...

I think it's loosing it's bite ..

[Calilasseia]

I think we've had a thread on the (not really lethal) false widow spider already, haven't we?

Just checked. Both by searching for "False Widow" and the Genus Steatoda. Looks like we don't. Only references I can find to Steatoda spiders are in the spider thread (surprise, surprise), and both of them are posts of Steatoda bipunctata I posted some time ago.

The two species you have to worry about, however, are Steatoda nobilis and Steatoda grossa. Both of these species are actually native to the Canary Islands, and were introduced accidentally to the UK. These are apparently capable of medically significant envenomation of humans, but the venom is considerably less powerful than that of their relatives in the Genus Latrodectus, and typically affects only small children, the elderly, or the immunocompromised. Healthy adults might feel pain from the initial bite, but the venom is unlikely to exert major effects unless the bite recipient is already prone to anaphylactic shock.

The fun part of all this, by the way, is that some Steatoda species are actually predators of the far more dangerous Latrodectus spiders.

[klr]

I think we've had a thread on the (not really lethal) false widow spider already, haven't we?

Just checked. Both by searching for "False Widow" and the Genus Steatoda. Looks like we don't. Only references I can find to Steatoda spiders are in the spider thread (surprise, surprise), and both of them are posts of Steatoda bipunctata I posted some time ago.

The two species you have to worry about, however, are Steatoda nobilis and Steatoda grossa. Both of these species are actually native to the Canary Islands, and were introduced accidentally to the UK. These are apparently capable of medically significant envenomation of humans, but the venom is considerably less powerful than that of their relatives in the Genus Latrodectus, and typically affects only small children, the elderly, or the immunocompromised. Healthy adults might feel pain from the initial bite, but the venom is unlikely to exert major effects unless the bite recipient is already prone to anaphylactic shock.

The fun part of all this, by the way, is that some Steatoda species are actually predators of the far more dangerous Latrodectus spiders.

"I have a cunning plan ..."

[Blind groper]

Actually, venemous spiders do not try to bite humans. Instead they do the very sensible thing of running away and hiding when they can. Even if you have a spider walking over your bare skin, it takes something very provoking to get it to bite.

We have a venemous spider in NZ (Latrodectus katipo) which lives above high water mark on warm northern beaches, hiding in the debris cast up by wind and wave. It is capable of killing an old person or a child. The last significant bite was 50 years ago, in spite of the fact that it is very common on some beaches.

[Calilasseia]

The above is true of most species, but sadly doesn't apply to Phoneutria species, which are aggressive and adopt a "launch on warning" strategy. These spiders will actively pursue you. Attenborough shot some nice footage of one jumping on a broom in a barber's shop, and running up the broom handle to attack the person holding the broom.

[JimC]

The above is true of most species, but sadly doesn't apply to Phoneutria species, which are aggressive and adopt a "launch on warning" strategy. These spiders will actively pursue you. Attenborough shot some nice footage of one jumping on a broom in a barber's shop, and running up the broom handle to attack the person holding the broom.

Also true of the Sydney funnel web, Atrax robusta. At certain times of the year, the males go wandering, and can be aggressive. And deadly...