"Some time ago (can be found a l-o-n-g way down this blog somewhere) I predicted the false widow spider [steatoda nobilis] would continue spreading in the UK. Although not much of a prediction really, more of a statement of the bleedin' obvious!
Well, apparently (according to 'the press') the spider is, now, heading northwards! Although, I suspect this eternal story is a staple favourite of journos in the usual summer copy drought, or 'silly season'. I think I've read the headline 'Dangerous spider spreads across the UK' every summer, since I first took an interest in the eight-legged beasts!
But still, it's fact I guess, and definately worth a mention on Arachnipedia."
So here, loyal readers, at the very end of July, as the 'copy drought' of which I spoke hits, The Dorset Echo informs its readers that an arachnid that has lived in the area for decades [The one, the only, Steatoda Nobilis] is still living in the area. And just to illustrate it is in the area, the paper's photographer 'paps' the spider (actually no larger than a five pence piece) in such a way to make it look like it has just stepped out of the set of the fourth Harry Potter film!
Time to dispel a few myths. Oh daddy-oh, there are quite a few here....
It's an issue I've meant to address for ages on arachnipedia.
Daddy-long-legs spiders.
Now
there's an interesting piece of folklore around these (or some of their closely related arthropods). Even comedian Ricky Gervais plays on this completely unsubstantiated garbage in his stand-up performance 'Animals'.
Quoting the joke (In reference to a cranefly): "Yeah, you're unsteady on your feet, but you have the most powerful venom known to man". Cranefly: "But I have no means of administering it - I have no teeth!"
Well, it goes something like that anyway.
I have to admit that two or three years ago, I wasn't too sure about the facts on this eit
her!
There are three very common arthropods we all see in the UK with the 'daddy-long-legs' characteristics. And these are the facts.
(1) Crane-fly/Daddy-long-legs: A seasonal insect seen worldwide and common in British summers/autumn. Particularly irritating due to its gangling legs and attraction to light. It does not bite. The ones with a sharpened extrusion at the end of their abdomen are females - this is an ovipositor and not a stinger. Males have a blunted end to their abdomen. There are several species of this insect. Some look like giant gnats. The only threat this animal poses is that it lays its eggs in the ground and resulting larvae are the feared Leatherjackets that can eat awayy at roots. This insect is not venomous in any way. It is not a spider OR an arachnid of any type.
(2) Harvestman: These are a bit of an anomaly. They are an eight-legged invertebrate animal, which belong to a sub-category of arachnid called Opil
iones. There are thousands of these species. Far more than there are spiders. I wouldn't even start to go into sub-species, because I wouldn't even know what the hell I was talking about! Out of my depth there!
Harvestman are, while being arachnids, not actually spiders, and are more closely related to scorpions, ticks and some lice. But they are not insects and do not have a significant bite!
(3) Pholcidae/Pholcid Spider/Cellar Spider: (TOP PHOTO) This is a reclusive arachnid of the sub-species araneomorphae, which is common and spread worldwide. It is a spindly and fragile animal, which has uncate fangs. Uncate fangs are small non-protrudin
g chelicerae, designed for killing prey of a similar size. In the USA, the feared Brown Recluse/Fiddle Spider also has uncate chelicerae and can kill small animals such as lizards. There is no proof that any spider in the frail Pholcidae genus could be dangerous.
In 2004, the US television series MythBusters set out to test the age-old 'They're the most dangerous animal on the planet, but don't have teeth big enough' theory.
Result = Itchy arms from Pholcid spiders (which probably do give a nip) and that was it!
Incidentally, the spindly, dainty weakling that is the cellar/pholcid spider, eats (in the UK) all Tegenaria species, mouse spiders and much much more! In America, it is known for predating on the black widow. And in Australia, it eats the Redback and its much larger cousin the huntsman. Watch this NetworkTen video from Australia
And we worry that it might bite us 'cos of a 90s urban legend?
Well, it's been an interesting few weeks for the topic of arachnids.
Massive orb-weavers in people's gardens, spiders that build their own 'waxworks' and even Michael Jackson's untimely death and its flood of new stories gets a mention here.
Seems the king of pop may have used the cover story of a spider bite after he turned up late to a hearing as part of his child abuse trial in 2002. According to some reports, he had been injecting heroin and a needle had broken off in his leg. Ewww. Poor, misguided, mess of a guy! But spiders as an excuse? That's BAD!
It's an unusual British summer. Perhaps mainly because it has been sunny, but also because there has been a massive influx of larger spiders indoors. Our bigger arachnids tend to scurry into our houses from September onwards - usually to look for a mate.
Temperatures of +30c over past weeks have tempted some of our more fearsome spiders indoors to cool off. I've seen a plethora of tegenaria species in my house (usually seen indoors in autumn). My sister and her husband have spoken of an elongated spider they have been seeing around their house recently, and I wonder if it is maybe the woodlouse spider. I include a photo of the woodlouse spider for identification purposes in case anyone else spots it. Handle carefully though. It has a nasty nip.
Anyway, I'll sign off here with the Rory Bremner of the spider world. An arachnid that seemingly builds a double of itself in its web from detritus.
Well, if I had eight arms I'd do the same. Wouldn't you?
ddy-oh, there are quite a few here....
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