FALSE ALARM!

It's been a while.

I've been busy exploring Los Santos.
Funny really, because while I've been exploring a fictional, fanciful and violent world within a game, the British press has been playing its own game, planting one hell of a fictional, fanciful and painful seed in people's heads that makes GTA5 look like an episode of the Good Life!

Perhaps the Good Life is a suitable place to start because I'm talking about a humble spider here, which was (perhaps) creeping merrily around in suburbs 'darrn sarrf' decades ago. Well, it was. And still is.

I've tried to resist blogging throughout Britain's vilification of the False Widow Spider (because that's what I'm talking about - obviously) and the way it's 'plaguing' the nation.
But I take no more! I say stop!

Silly, silly, silly!

If you've been living on Mars, you'll have no doubt missed the fact that Britain has recently decided it's all got a bit like Australia up here and a warm summer has left us poor folk vulnerable to toxic spider bites that will make our legs fall off, arms explode, and probably cry a lot unless we can kill every arachnid in sight!
I'm not trying to patronise folk, or dumb down actual cases of medical reactions to spider bites, but Britain should maintain its stiff upper lip. Perhaps rest a spider on that very lip. It will scuttle off - it won't eat your face!

Towards the end of August 2013, the odd one or two tales of terror about Steatoda Nobilis (a well established, significantly [in UK terms] venomous spider began to crawl into the British tabloids. This is nothing unusual. It's a staple favourite in any kind of news copy drought EVERY year.

The fact is, it is one of a handful of spiders established in the UK with fangs strong and large enough to penetrate human flesh as a means of defense when trapped or threatened. It so happens it also has an unpleasant (that's unpleasant - not deadly or neurotoxic) venom, which, unfortunately, if you're bitten by one, means it's quite possible you'll know about it.
In the majority of bite cases (which in themselves are rare) range from a nip to a wasp sting sensation, but some bite patients report flu-like malaise, which can last a day or two.

OK it's very fair to say we've always had a false sense of safety in the UK when it comes to dangerous animals - we've all been told about adders and not to touch snakes [as they're drilled into us as our only potentially deadly land animal] and we're pretty sure we don't have black widows (for some reason people always think they're the most deadly of spiders), but, suddenly, we humble Brits have a venomous spider?

Not true at all. The False Widow has been a UK resident since the 1800s and probably arrived here in fruit imports from Madera or the Canary Islands (entomologists aren't entirely sure which). They just know that the spider is thriving and has been for millennia in those places. It causes no known problems there.

The venom of Steatoda Nobilis is actually no more powerful than a wasp or bee sting.
Spiders don't see humans as prey (and while I accept many people are scared of them - I myself [whilst fascinated by them] wouldn't want one crawling on me or biting me.
Venom is a spider's means of trapping its food. If this process didn't take place, you, I and every animal on the planet would be plagued by flies, crickets, wasps etc.

The rare problem with False widows (and this is the same case with all species of spiders capable of giving a nip in the UK) is that a bite can introduce bacteria to human flesh - resulting in severe infection (sometimes). This is why cases reported in the Daily Mail, while probably true, don't justify the vilification of the Steatoda species alone (false widows).

The False Widow (Steatoda) family ARE related to the potentially dangerous Latrodectus family of spiders, which include America and southern Europe's infamous black widow and the Red Back spiders of Australia, but fatalities are rare, even if, and when those species bite. There hasn't been a fatal red back bite since the late 1940s.

Scaremongering about British spiders is rather pointless. No species settled in the UK has ever delivered a fatal bite. Although I'm sure the Daily Mail is on a mission to seek out the first case, just to prove us otherwise.
Each year in Britain, people are trampled to death by cows, fatally kicked by horses, mauled to death by dogs, die of infections spread by cat scratches, succumb to allergic reactions to wasp and bee stings and poisoned by ingesting mushrooms that have grown here since the dawn of time.

Yet, a tiny, humble eight legged beast, with an almost robotic brain and instinct to do nothing more than eat and breed, is our current whipping boy!

As I always say, don't handle spiders and stay webwise!

You can read more about Steatoda spiders, elsewhere on this blog.

BI-GOD (punctata)!

It's always great to get correspondence on Arachnipedia.

It's great to get a backstory too, but it gets web-spinningly better when there's a cool photo too to accompany it. 

This week I received a particularly pleasing email from a guy called Paul. 

Of course, I'm flattered and chuffed that Arachnipedia came up tops in a Google search for a spider. 

But I'm genuinely more impressed by the fact that people are prepared to evaluate a situation when an unrecognised eight-legged beast appears on the scene, rather than immediately employing that reliable slug of rubber which lies between sole and concrete. A spider squished is a spider missed in my book!

Therididae - comb footed spiders.............

steatoda nobilis        steatoda bipunctata       steatoda grossa        latrodectus

I'm hoping the contributor is fine with being quoted, as verbatim in his email.

It's easier explained with the email!

Hi Gavin,

Thanks to your website I put our minds at ease by identifying this spider we found in our bathroom. It says they like animal dwellings but we only have the one dog but I guess it's kinda cold out there.

I was going to take it to Quarantine at Heathrow as they identified the Australian house spider that hitched a ride and found its way here but after typing in a “spider with dimples” up came your website straight away and now the missus can sleep tonight.
I attached a photo of the beaut if you’d like to use it. It’s a bit on the large side as I didn’t want to go too low with the quality.

Kind Regards

Cass

And, yes, I'm definitely using the photo lol. Thanks for the image and email.

Snappy New Year! 
Been a bit ill over the past few weeks. Not particularly happy that Christmas has been pretty much wasted.
Went for dinner at my parents' for New Years' Day. In fact I'm in bed now.
Before I left my flat, I noticed a cellar spider eating a house spider near my door. Now I'd read that cellar spiders could attack and subdue bigger prey. It amazes me really.
We all have these spiders in our homes. I include a video below (obviously not mine, but demonstrates the bizarre might of these spindly arachnids), and I'm trying to add links to the words I've just typed. Hopefully they will work. If they do, then I am more in love with my Kindle Fire HD than I already was!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj-6x9_Pwlk

Look at her dimples! (II)

A while ago I blogged about a spider called the rabbit hutch spider. I think the blog was 'Look at her dimples', which came after a reader sent me a photo for identification.

In fact, the very last blog I wrote (below this one) is on a similar note.

The rabbit hutch spider (steatoda bipunctata) is widespread throughout the UK, but relatively uncommon, or perhaps un-noticed in the north. That said, it was species I was well aware of, along with its notorious, pack-a-punch venom cousin the Noble False Widow (steatoda nobilis).

Steatoda are a multi-species of spiders in a family called Theridiidae. The Theridiidae family includes potentially dangerous species like the American Black Widow, the Australian Redback and the New Zealand Katipo.
They are (to bracket them together) known as comb foot spiders - they back comb their silk to produce tangle webs. None of your common or garden symetric spider webs here thanks. Imagine pulling a cotton wool ball apart and draping the resulting strands around your living room. That's Theridiidae!

Anyway, that's all by the by.

My reason for being here tonight is that I just got a few vaguely useable shots of a steatoda bipunctata.
And, to be honest, as an amateur arachnologist, I'm pretty damn impressed with my skills of identification these days. I'm also impressed I managed to see it.
I'd gone to the loo. I didn't even have the lights on. In the dim light from the window, I saw a spider chowing down on a small fly. Seeing its bulbous body and the fact it wasn't in a web, I immediately thought, "right, I'm catching you".

All suspicions were confirmed. It's a female steatoda bipunctata. It's probably the first steatoda spider I've seen in the flesh.
To double check, working on what I knew of false widows, I rolled her over and she played dead. Revealing the giveaway Omega, or figure of eight pattern, synonymous with false widows.

I think I demonstrate this in the images above (see circular cut out). Unfortunately, I had to rely on my mobile phone for photos, as my camera battery is flat.

False ALARM!!!! ?

Would YOU know what a false widow spider was if it bit you on the bum?
Well, on the arm, or any other extremity.

Since I began this blog (and I know many people have a fear of spiders) there is one spider that's always piqued my interest. And probably equally, even as a fan of our eight-legged friends, freaked me a teeny bit.
I've never seen it in the flesh, but the False Widow Spider (Steatoda Nobilis) is always ready to crawl into the headlines.
It's a member of the theridiidae genus of arachnida. Its close cousin is the genus Latrodectus, which includes such notorious members as the Black Widow and Australian Redback.
Both notorious for their potentially lethal bite.

In the UK, there are several 'sisters' to the Nobilis, perhaps most notibly Steatoda Grossa and Steatoda Bipunctata. 

The similarities (to the common or garden observer) between these spiders aren't always clear.

The UK press has gone a bit wild this week with the story of former medical photographer Catherine Coombs, of Dorset. As daily tabloids would have us have it, she 'almost lost her hand' after being bitten by a False Widow. This may very well be the case. Both Steatoda Grossa and Nobilis pack a punch that every spider hater's nightmares are made of. BUT this is incredibly rare.
Hence the fact it's even become a news story.

In no way do I even contemplate belittling Ms Coombs' story. The Steatoda Nobilis has a bite, which is, to most people, very similar to a wasp sting. So clearly, incredibly unpleasant.

What I would question though is the odd 'I've been bitten by a spider' mentality that was spawned in the days after the article.

And I do question journalism when THIS is somehow a story!

I sort of think of myself as a British spider expert now. This blog has been floating around on the web since 2007, and I'm not sure I've ever seen such a flurry of 'bites'. It's not really even 'spider season' as UK arachnids go, but each to their own I guess.

Stay webwise folks,
Gav xxx

Legs & Co

Back in the 1970s, while nosey web [spider's webs] perves like myself were mere spiderlings, there existed a dance troop known as 'Legs & Co'.

Their main purpose being to fill the visual airtime during the play-out of the week's No1, in the days where there were few pop videos other than that weird one with Paul McCartney and his then wife, wandering along a beach with big bags and pipes! 'Milking a tyre', or summat I believe it was called!

Seems Legs and Co have somewhat of a renaissance of late.

Recent observations have proven some spiders can watch a fellow spider's mating dance, learn the best moves and then improve upon them when he gets his moment!

I so want to set this clip to 'Night Fever' by the Bee-Gees, but I'll refrain and just provide an innocent link!

CLICK HERE FOR STORY

Spiders' Guardian angel!

Sometimes it can be difficult to back up an argument about spiders.

At this time of year, when 'Legs and Co' (and I'm not talking about a 1970's edition of Top of the Pops) are scuttling around your carpets like it's the mini-beast equivalent of Strictly Come Dancing, the last thing an arachnophobic homeowner wants to hear is 'spiders are your friends'.

Ironically, on this clump of constantly morphing data we are brazen enough to call 'The Web', generally, the most likely statements, comments and 'facts' about a fascinating and useful animal are either 'it looks better on the sole of my shoe', or 'eeeeugggh kill it!'

I recently blogged about the ever-predictable presence of the British house spider (Tegenaria species).

It's autumn, so male spiders must search for a mate. There's a little book they read in their tunnel webs (passed from generation to generation), it teaches them (1) never to leave their hidey hole until at least late August, (2) Try not to get stuck in a bath. (3) Favour finding Mrs Spider over finding something to eat. (4) Be on TOTAL alert for predators. (5) Learn to detect ANY movement - it's a threat unless it's a female. (6) Always head back indoors. (7) Last resort is to bite.

It's a book specifically written for a seven-legged animal. I know spiders have eight legs, but most of them read it on the loo before going out on the pull and need a free leg to wipe their spinnerets!

Yep - that's pretty contrived, but most of our arguments for killing spiders are too.

House spiders are an inevitable visitor in autumn and they are, as I say every year, completely harmless. If you are frightened, try not to squish them. Plonk 'em outside if you must - they just want to scour your skirting board for a female friend. Most will die after mating through the shear exhaustion of wandering around for weeks.

It always astounds me that one of Britain's more impressive arthropods is vilified with such resounding hatred from all corners.

The Guardian's John Moore recently bigged up team Tegenaria with this sensible scribe in prose only I can dream of constructing!

Guardian Article: House Spiders

Making the point that children have a natural, un-deterred urge to touch spiders through their general explorative intrigue, the article quotes Stuart Hine, of the Natural History Museum and suggests our fear of these animals is more 'nurture than nature'. Mummy and Daddy will say "NO - don't touch that!" instilling fear through association.

My 19-month-old niece recently pulled her grandfather in the direction of a magazine on a table, while making a spider-like scuttling motion with her hand. When he looked at the photo she was pointing at the spider-like green stalk head on a tomato. So it's clear that even at that age, there is an association between the eerie scuttling motion and the spider shape.

I just hope my sister (a total arachnophobe) doesn't besmirch spiders to such a degree that my niece becomes another squisher!

Spiderham (nothing to do with Homer Simpson's Spider Pig)

A quick note. My boss recently recalled a childhood memory of a spider scuttling away from a kitchen worktop, carrying a piece of meat. He seemed pretty sure he saw it happen!

I was a little sceptical about this, as most arachnids subdue live insect prey with either a neurotoxin (paralyses by shutting down nervous system) or an agatoxin (paralyses by shutting down muscular mechanisms).

They tend to use this technique as an alternative to having a fridge! They leave prey wrapped up in silk in suspended animation, but still alive with insect blood hydraulically coursing through their exoskeleton.

Then, when they fancy a snack they return to the web and use a digestive enzyme to biodegrade the contents of said insect, which can then be sucked up by the spider.

I didn't imagine for one minute that a spider would be interested in cooked or processed mammalian meat, but on a tedious search of the web, I found similar accounts and observations by other folk.

The general consensus on this seemingly unlikely scenario is that spiders possibly have a 'taste' sense and are aware of organic materials which may attract insects like flies and ants and wasps, so occasionally, when the opportunity arises, they will carry our mealtime detritus to their web as bait for their own mealtime!

Stay webwise folks.

Gav.

Autumn - Tegenaria tastic

OK - it's begun. The eight-legged dash.

Perhaps it's early, but it's inevitable. The UK's most common biggies have ventured out to look for a mate.

Tegenaria Duellica, Domestica and Atrica are on the loose!

Perfectly normal for the UK (if a little early).

Spotted these two males (I actually think they are both Duellica - one's a juvenile) tonight on top of my oven and trapped them before releasing them outside!

These are what we Brits call 'house spiders', yet it's only now, at the start of autumn that we notice them in our homes!

Fat pedipalps (club like appendages) - males.

Some of this story doesn't have legs

Our bastion of 'quality' news, the British Broadcasting Corporation flails wildly in poorly researched directions with what is actually quite an attractive story here.

US workers in Kent wisely spotted and trapped a female black widow spider (Latrodectus) at Chatham Docks, which had legged it into Blighty on cars imported from the States.
The amorous alien (she was carrying hundreds of spiteful spiderlings in her sac) was handed to a Maidstone vet in a takeaway carton.

It's not unheard of. Black widows have, in recent history, made it into the UK on US-imported goods.
They're not generally as dangerous as the reputation that proceeds them, but I would doubt most UK A&E departments have the anti venom to slake the pain should one pinch a pasty Brit!

* Note to 'Mr Rowland, of the Trinity Vet Centre', Latrodectus species don't weave funnel-shaped webs. They are tangle web spiders which spin clever individual strand lines to ensnare unsuspecting prey!

* Note to the BBC - Black widow spiders are one of the most 'Venomous', not 'Poisonous' species in the world. Both male and female of the species are venomous!

Click photo-link for full story.