False Widow Spiders

[Cotswold Cockney]

These are news to me.

Being ever watchful of things Natural History, have observed one or two shiny black spiders in my garden this year which I've never seen anywhere before. Their appearance suggested "Black Widow" to me and being unusual, took a couple of images of it. Here it is ~ see attached. Bit sinister don't you think?

By coincidence, a few minutes ago, my wife drew my attention to a smaller dark spider in our utility room. Tucked away in a corner. Looked like a smaller version of what I had seen and photographed in the garden a few days ago. She then told me she had recently read in the local paper, The Gloucestershire Echo, about a plague in Southern England of "False Widow Spiders". Their venom has had serious and nasty effects to some people who have been in contact with these creatures. Here's the "Killer Spiders" article :~

http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/ ... z2hpsrDrQU

The specimen I pictured clearly has that pale band across the front of that disproportionately large abdomen mentioned in the article. This clearly IDs the spider as one of these False Widows. Hmmm, I thought the two or one I've seen twice in the garden looked a bit of an alien to my experienced old minces.

Have you seen or heard of these recent "Invaders".

Meantime, best to keep 'em peeled. Just in case.

[Susie]

DON'T PANIC!

I've had S. nobilis on the back of my house for years and so far no one has been harmed. My understanding is that their venom has a similar effect to a bee sting although none of us have been bitten by these nocturnal critters.

We also have S. grossa down the side of the house living in old flower pots.

I always treat them with respect and am careful in places I think they may be in the same way I would be cautious around a wasp but I have never found the spiders to be aggressive around me.

That being said I would probably carefully evict any I found indoors.

[ChrisC]

oh don't get me started on this media frenzy surrounding these.......Killer spiders?
so many holes can picked in that article it's untrue.
not one death attributed to them in over 100 years in the country, the same can't be said for bees or wasps let alone cars planes trains etc not only that but the picture accompanying the article actually show one on someone's hand. not ranting at you Cotswold cockney but the media are making such a meal of this it's untrue. I've knowingly lived gardened photographed and worked alongside steatoda nobilis since at least 2006 when I saw my first in my old Hayes garden. god knows how long ago it was there before that. they are resident in the bungalow currently though if they get too big, like Susies (well said by way), they get evicted. they are all around the warehouse at work, only this week I saw one take on a Male segestria florentina, 2 weeks before that a buff tip caterpillar climbed up the wall and succumbed. The hysteria being created is so sad and depressing. they are amazing spiders. Just treat them with respect.

False Widow spiders are the new Ragwort.

[Essex Bertie]

There's a bit about it here:
http://www.essexfieldclub.org.uk/portal ... da+nobilis

No cause for alarm, although in the local rag this week, there was a story about a chap that had been bitten by one and "nearly lost his leg"!