The itsy bitsy spider got on a banana boat...
There's a tabloid craze in the UK at the moment concerning a little creature with eight legs. No, it's not the new Spider-Man 3 movie now available on Blu-Ray; it's the steatoda nobilis...aka false black widow.
About 200 years ago, these little critters hopped on a banana boat from the Canary Islands. I guess they wanted to see the world. They've been living in England ever since.
If you've ever read a tabloid headline (i.e. Elvis is an alien), you'll know that most like the stretch the truth. The recent story on this spider is another classic case of that.
It's true that this spider can bite. But it is not aggressive, and like many spiders that are perceived as "deadly", this one won't cause the majority of the population much pain. But taking precautions are always a good idea. If you are the one whom it hospitalizes, I'd hate to have not cautioned you.
The global warming people are chipping in now, saying that the spiders are becoming greater in number due to warmer temperatures in Britain. This just after Britain's largest snowstorm in 15 years. I'm no scientist, but I think the snow killed off a few of them this year. The Telegraph disagrees.
Like a lot of recent stories (this one in Australia), most just like to stir up people's emotions. Read this guy's 2007 analysis.
I've seen brown recluse and black widow spiders up close and personal. They are pretty scary...in fact I don't like spiders at all. But I'm not going to cancel my garden tour in the Kent countryside because of the false widow. It's just that - false.
Comments
Ugh Todd! Thanks, Thanks a lot. What a way to start my morning! I am going to be freaking out all day and thinking something is crawling on me. Ick. I hate spiders.
I have to say I haven't lost any!
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