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False widow spiders
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Not False Widow, but highly informative to all you arachnophiles out there
https://youtu.be/hSiXERe0QKE
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I get dozens of them all around the garage roof. A couple of years back, I got bitten by one in the sleeve of the bike jacket I keep out there, and my arm blew up like a marrow. If I tried to bend at the elbow, it felt like it would burst! I felt like crap for a couple of days and my arm was red hot.
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What’s the locale of these little blighters in the U.K. ? Confined to the south or widespread ?0
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If you draw a line between The Severn Estuary and The Wash you can find them pretty much anywhere below that line. Above it and they tend to be found in highly populated areas (West Midlands, Manchester-Liverpool), by the time you get as far as Scotland they are a lot more sparse.1
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There’s one living in my bin store.
I’ve named it Gary.
I bid it a good day every time I go in there.5 -
False widow is a name ascribed to a dozen or so UK spider species, some quite distinct from each other genetically, based chiefly on the markings on the abdomen which sometimes look a bit like a violin
There are very few UK spider species FW included that have powerful enough bites to break human skin
None of them are dangerously venomous anywhere close to actual black widow bites Black Widows don’t naturally occur in UK , yet.
Most significant reactions are caused by allergy in the human The worst reactions are commonly caused by bacterial infection of the wound
They’re all best left alone to eat all the other rotten creepy crawlies and each other
The glass and postcard method is by far the best if you have to evict them
and aren’t rational enough to pick them up
Karma is probably also nonsense so if you’re really freaked out just whack it with a trainer 😭😭☠️☠️🕷🕷🕷🕸🕸🕷🕷🕷1 -
Thanks. Why do you think it tends to be distributed in populated urban areas and less so in the more rural locations ?Stig said:If you draw a line between The Severn Estuary and The Wash you can find them pretty much anywhere below that line. Above it and they tend to be found in highly populated areas (West Midlands, Manchester-Liverpool), by the time you get as far as Scotland they are a lot more sparse.2 -
I guess the bottom line is that we provide an environment in which they can thrive. Steatoda nobillis love the railings at the top of wooden fences, overlaps of felt roofing, gaps in cladding and the like. Statoda grossa love the railings at the bottom of fences and lowdown around sheds and flower pots. Meanwhile Steatoda bipunctata are attracted to rabbit hutches and similar structures.1
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Is this little fella a falsie? Don't worry I didn't hurt it, just blew some air on it and it curled up.
Then 5 mins later it's upside down in a web that I didn't even see?
And now it's running!
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Yes Steatoda nobilis, probably male by the look of the small abdomen.
Edit - and big palps. They're the arm like things at the front that serve, amongst other things, as sex organs.1 - Sponsored links:
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Just to seal my place in the Charlton Life Pantheon of Nerds. Here are 100 of the False Widows that I've catalogued over the past few years:
And just so you know my obsession isn't limited to False Widows here's a beautiful Wasp Spider I saw yesterday:
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Had this monster in the shed earlier. 2 minutes beforehand my hand was there putting back the weed killer! Is it a falsie?
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Burn the shed downJames86 said:Had this monster in the shed earlier. 2 minutes beforehand my hand was there putting back the weed killer! Is it a falsie?15 -
Definitely not a falsie. Difficult to say from that picture. The markings look very similar to a Labyrinth Spider (Agelena labyrinthica), but you don't usually see them away from their very distinctive webs, so I don't think it would be one of those. I reckon it's probably some sort of House Spider (genus Eratigena) or perhaps Barn Funnel Weaver (Tegenaria domestica).1
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Debated it at the time. The hoover done it’s job though!jacob_CAFC said:
Burn the shed downJames86 said:Had this monster in the shed earlier. 2 minutes beforehand my hand was there putting back the weed killer! Is it a falsie?0 -
No, but these areJames86 said:Had this monster in the shed earlier. 2 minutes beforehand my hand was there putting back the weed killer! Is it a falsie?
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@Stig do you go out of your way to find these 8 legged creatures or do they just turn up at your place knowing they have a welcoming owner?0
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@Karim_myBagheri, I do go out of my way looking for spiders, but I don't have to go for looking for Steatoda, there are always plenty in my loving home
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James86 said:Had this monster in the shed earlier. 2 minutes beforehand my hand was there putting back the weed killer! Is it a falsie?
Yep, had a large one of these fall down onto my hand from a door a couple of months back (mentioned earlier in the thread). As stated, not a falsie; maybe a sub-species of the common house spider?
FWIW, I'm not a massive fan of arachnids, but these are definitely far more attractive and non threatening than many other species....they're almost cuddly!0 -
Almost0
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Spent the morning in urgent care yesterday. Suspected spider bite. If the redness goes beyond the pen line I have to go to A&E. Just been given standard antibiotics.
I wouldnt mind, I worked in London Wed - Fri this week and hasnt even venturee into the garden!
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What sort of spider would cause that?
Asking for a friend.0 -
I found this 'ghostly' spider on my compost heap
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Friendly Steatoda having a nice little stroll up my arm. BTW, there's some very funny False Widow material in Stewart Lee's Snowflake show.
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That's a terrific photograph
I wonder how many lifers have soiled themselves so far this morning seeing that
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False widow spiders? You mean they're still married and lying about it?4
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there's absolutely no f**king way that would be having a 'nice little stroll' up my arm !3
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It seems we've run out of steam with False Widows, so here's a new species to enjoy. The Green Fanged Tube Web Spider. I've a bunch of them up my alley way. This one has made a home out of a hole in my brickwork.
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