Black Widow’s Relative on the March
SOME people have an irrational fear of spiders - but the Mash family
might be forgiven for having a more legitimate reason.
Stephen Mash, of Dalys Road, Rochford, has found seven spiders which
have been confirmed as a relative of the venomous black widow.
The false black widow variety of spider are becoming more common
across southern England.
Although they are not lethal, they do have a nasty bite.
Mr Mash, 41, said: "I first saw one of these spiders a few months
back, but with the warmer weather I have found more. I realised what
they were after seeing an article in a national newspaper about a
woman being bitten by one.
"I captured three which I found when I was clearing out my shed. I
think they like the warm, because they were hiding behind our tumble
dryer and fridge freezer.
"There were two in our house, and I've also seen one on Canvey."
The spiders have been confirmed as the false black widow, or steatoda
nobilis, by expert Peter Harvey, from the Essex Field Club.
Mr Harvey said the spiders were becoming quite common in the Southend
area, with a number of recorded sightings in 1990 in Westcliff.
However, information on the club's website says the spiders seldomly
bite and, if they do, the pain of the bite would be "little different
to a bee sting".
Mr Mash said: "I'm not keen on spiders, but I put a glass over them
and collected them like that. My daughter, Eleanor, is terrified of them."
The spiders are medium sized and glossy, reddish in colour with white
markings across the body.
They are believed to have been introduced into Britain with bananas
from the Canary Islands and Madeira.
Source unknown: March 2008
