A shot of a Golden Orb Weaver eating a bird wasn't enough to tear the hacks away from the bite of the financial climate!
Orb weavers, generally as harmful to humans as Keith Chegwin (and that's pretty much as harmful as they are - nauseating, a bit stingy and leave you irritated) can be of sizes sure to induce sudden panic. Don't get me wrong, they can be massive. But technically, the nice little (or big) fatties you see in your UK gardens in autumn with their gorgeous webs, are Orb Weavers of a sort - and they aren't native either! Imported friends we've had for years from Europe!
The Golden Orb Weaver featured in the Metro article is a spider common in the US/Australia/Canaries and Africa, but is one of the real biggies that we really, really, really shouldn't worry about. It is MASSIVE but its bite is no more harmless than the bird eating tarantulas of Africa or possibly even the UK-native garden nasty Woodlouse Spider.
Great spider though and shame on Metro for pushing this mega-arachnid to the inner-pages!
Great though that some woman took the photos in Queensland while hanging out her washing!
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