The Daily Mail today squeaks a warning about the inexorable rise of what it describes as “the UK’s most dangerous spider”:
Somehow avoiding a link the the forthcoming Spiderman movie the article begins:
Global warming has led to the rapid rise in numbers of a poisonous spider which is a close relative of the deadly Black Widow and is now thriving in Britain. Although the false widow spider accidentally came into this country 200 years ago after it arrived in a bunch of bananas from the Canary Islands, it is rare to find one. But our mild winters and have sent numbers rocketing. Experts are now warning gardeners to be alert after a couple stumbled across two of the biting black spiders, known as Steatoda Nobilis in Latin… Stuart Hine, insect expert at the Natural History museum, is now warning all gardeners to be on alert. He said: “Numbers of the Steatoda Nobilis have whipped up in the last ten years. There is no doubt in my mind that this is due to the milder winters caused by global warming.”
Now apart from the oddities in this text (would the eminent Mr Hine really have said ‘the Steatoda Nobilis’? The definite article is erroneous, as is the capitalisation) its really no more than a tired old story whipped up for the season (and an apparent rewrite of a 2006 story in the Daily Telegraph). If someone had actually been bitten by the spider and suffered ill-effects (a malaise known as steatodism) that would probably be news – as such an event is pretty rare in this country. There is one reported case in which Steatoda was confirmed to be the cause in Worthing in 1991, but the only other well-known incident was in 2006 in Dorchester, and of this the same Mr Hine says, in a Natural History Museum page on the subject:
In this case, the spider ran off and couldn’t be captured, so it wasn’t formally identified. The culprit spider was described as looking very much like one of the false widow spiders, Steatoda nobilis , but there are a number of similar looking species such as the black widow. The incident happened in a market, so it is possible that the culprit may have been an exotic spider accidentally shipped over in a fruit container from overseas. It’s quite possible it was an exotic spider, and if indeed these severe symptoms were wholly attributed to the spider then I would say they are a bit extreme for the bite of S. nobilis in a healthy adult.
So not much to worry about there then. Many other cases of reported spider bites turn out to be unproven, and as an adverse reaction is in itself unusual it’s hard if not impossible to say what species was involved after the fact – especially as the specimen responsible is usually a jammy smear by that time. As with nettles, bees wasps, and even peanuts and PVC, some people unfortunately are sensitive to spider bites and will suffer reactions such as flu-like episodes, palpitations and hot/cold sweats. But for almost everyone, the effect of spider bite in this country is an itchy lump for a day or so at worst. So actually, there’s almost no evidence of Steatoda nobilis or any other UK spider causing anything more than temporary discomfort to anyone. [Edit: Stuart Hine reads The Ranger's Blog - he gives more detail of actual statistics in a comment below. Thanks Stuart!] What is clear, however, is that there are a good many people terrified of spiders, and this sort of alarmist populism serves only to reinforce this terror without any benefit to them. For example, the Daily Mail continues:
Michael Willis and his wife Pam, both 62, were terrified after spotting the shiny black creatures crawling up their garden wall of their home in Verwood, Dorset. Unsure what to do, Mrs Willis captured one in a jam jar and took it to an environmental health expert who confirmed it was a female Steatoda Nobilis.
Poor old Mr and Mrs Willis – terrified by a more-or-less harmless spider in their garden. There are probably thousands of the spiders there, and they’ve probably been there for decades. And yet nobody has been bitten, certainly not Mr and Mrs Willis. Despite this lack of notability, they were obviously upset, as this creeping menace merits the attention of the local Environmental Health, the Daily Mail, the Natural History Museum, and now us. So Steatoda may well be the UK’s most dangerous spider, but that position is only slightly more odious then being the UK’s most dangerous kitten. Far better, and more accurate, if the headline had been ‘Worried householders reassured to know that spiders are safe and good for your garden‘. Doubtless the sensible reassurance that Stuart Hine added to his statements was edited out along with his grammar and punctuation. Perhaps we should wait for the ‘Beware of Water Boatmen’ story!
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Dear Virtual Ranger: Yesterday, I wrote asking where I could send you pictures of a spider to confirm if it is S. nobilis but my email was wrong. So, I write again indicating the correct email.
Thanks a lot in advance.
William
The Ranger responds: A good place for getting UK wildlife identified online is iSpot.
I have today found a female Steotoda Nobilis in my loft. It was a solitary spider in the tell tale mish mash web. If I have found one does that mean that there will be more in the loft? For recording purposes I live in north birmingham, so they are definately marching in a notherly direction.
check out article in herald express nov 24 2011 page 8..re woman bitten twice in 10 years,,
Since i have written my opinion above i would like to say further comments. In Athens where i live the kind of steatoda have come up are steatoda grossa / nobilis / paykulliana. Grossa is the one with white zone on her abdomen close to rest of body and white markins or shapes below the belly. Paykulliana is totally black with red stripe zone on her abdomen a bit larger compared to grossa. Nobilis is brown with dots on her abdomen the smaller of the 3. I have never heard anything worrying on these spiders in my country. In fact for a long time i thought the Paykulliana was the classic black widow of the meditteranean basin but far from it ( Tredecimguttatys is the black widow with 13 red dots on all her abdomen and big as Paykulliana ) Grossa does make a rather not much irregural web more like a fishing boat lacking vertical traps depending where is the nest not that strong silk and not large but big enough web. Nobilis makes it more irregular small web with trip irregular lines and does it indoors too. Nobilis is rather small and prefers corners on outdoors and indoors, windows not well lighted from sun. Grossa likes sun so nests are on open places like gardens with fences even ropes where clothes are set for drying out near corners are perfect spots for them close to humid places and also not windy enough. If temperature is above 30 they tend to stay out of their hiding nest showing their presence. Mostly cause they have to protect eggs and they guard them – probably more dangerous their venom when tem is more than 30 degrees C. Paykulliana likes what grossa does but silk nest is the strongest and is totally irregular 3 D dimensional …close to black widows spider nest with strong trip vertical lines. In my opinion Paykulliana seems to me to be more “dangerous” as looks closer to latrodectus in terms of size, nervousness if threatened – not agressive at all but more like nervous to run and hide if feel human presence. To tell you the truth in Athens or mani (in peloponissos) i have never seen latrodectus tredenciguttatus (is seen in Crete mostlty). Came up with info/news of latrodectus mactans/hasselti invaded England. I think this spider can’t survive in UK because of colder and more humid weather probably mistaken to steatoda (Paykulliana is a possibility) and if so can’t be reproduced naturally. If there was such a case they should invade other european countries first. Fear again is overuled and exxagerated not that these littles can’t bite but clear environment with no much moisture is the key. Most houses in UK are grounded with very little foundations. As i lived in UK in a typical house below the carpet in my living room there was wood, dirt, stones no big foundations, rats was a problem and floor was humid. This is a point for spiders and insects
and just all 3 species described are not dangerous. Every summer there are at least 2 in my garden even on big heights (even on telephone lines) Steatoda paykulliana is rare to very rare and found the name long after i saw it on nest …after google and seach… (test strength of nest using pine niddle and need force to break it as i said…. thought was the notorious latrodectus spider..but not!)
Thnx for hearing my opinion hope there are no troubles from….ichy beachy spiders in UK :-)
* correction . bitchy…
I was bitten by a False widow spider in september 2011 It put me in hospital with extreme pain for 20 days but problem was not understood by hospital staff, indeed not recognised until 3 months later when my leg was being redressed by a community nurse who said” you have been bitten by a false widow spider, the second case I’ve seen this year” When I returned home I was on crutches for a week and housebound for many weeks after that. I eventually caught a specimen and sent it to the Nat. history museum in London, for identification and it was confirmed. Here I am 15 months later and still suffering mild pain and occasional suppuration. the bite triggered off a return of shingles after 45 years ( confirmed by GP) and I am left with Herpatic nuralgia and waiting for injections from a pain specialist. I also suffer from nasty muscle spasm which Doctors say is not connecte,d but I am sure it is . I feel that before spider experts belittle spider bites they should find one and let it bite them, they would soon change their tune . They are nasty dangerous beasties. David Gerry.
I have found these spiders in large numbers under my floorboards. I live in the highlands! but on the west coast we get mild winters. hows that for northern nobilis spider…
The Ranger responds: it’s pretty unusual for these spiders to live in complete darkness, although not impossible. It’s possible if your underfloor spaces are a bit damp that you might have the larger and rarer Meta menardi, the cave spider.
I’ve seen quite a few of these spiders recently. only ever one at a time and usually in open (not dark) places. I only noticed a couple of them after realizing they were on my hand. i live in Cheshire with open fields behind but have seen them in various places but always outdoors so i’m not too worried about finding one indoors. is it true they eat other spiders??/ if so is this not a good thing???
Almost all spiders eat plenty of other spiders, and Steatoda is no exception!
just thought id get in touch again. ive been working in the garden building a rabbit hutch. whilst workin I have seen 4 of these spiders. im not worried in the slightest as ive said I only noticed some after realizing they were on my hand. you can certainly be sure that I wont be killing or removing any of these spiders. I have two young children who often play around the garden and was wonderin what I should do if one of them was bitten (not likely I know). should I treat it like a wasp sting or should I be aware of anything else??? any idea how quickly this species is spreading??
They’re spreading, but not that fast. And for bites, it’s likely to be no worse than a nettle-rash, if that. Look out for allergic reactions, as with everything, but otherwise no need to worry.