Friday 18 October 2013
More sightings of the false widow spider, as Britain's 'most venomous arachnid', with orange legs and white skull markings spotted in Essex
Further sightings of the false widow spider, Britain’s most venomous arachnid, are raising fears following reports that the spider is heading north.
As dropping temperatures attract the spider into homes, mother of two Amanda Armitage told The Independent her five-year-old daughter had picked up the orange-legged arachnid which had ‘white skull image on its back’
The 33-year-old from Essex said she had seen the Independent report and so her husband immediately knocked it out of her hands.
“He had seen the story about the false widow going around Facebook and when he saw what Emily was holding, there was a look of terror on his face and he whacked it out of Emily’s hand.”
After managing to catch the spider, Mrs Armitage took a photo and put in on Facebook, where friends commented that they had also seen the false widow in their homes.
The false widow has been spotted more than 50 times in parts of London and Kent over the last month, according to News Shopper.
Symptoms of a false widow bite may include swelling of the bite area, pins and needles and minor chest pains, according to Tony Wileman, a conservation ecologist at the London Wildlife Trust.
“It is recommended that if bitten by a spider thought to be a false widow spider then medical attention (a visit to the A&E department or your local GP) should be sought informing the medical staff that you think you have been bitten by a false widow spider,” said Wileman.
Last year a woman was hospitalised and nearly lost her arm after suffering a bite.
Describing the spider, Mrs Armitage says she should have realised it was dangerous.
“It has orange legs and a white skull image on its back - I’ve never seen anything like it. It should have rung alarm bells. It actually looked dangerous,” she said.
The false widow is one of just three or four spiders in the UK that can survive in homes by catching enough food, according to Mr Hine Females outlive males, surviving for up to three years, and can reach sizes of over three centimetres.
The spider first arrived in the UK over 100 years ago in Devon from the Canary Islands. More recently the population has spread to southeast England but have been spotted further north in Ipswich, Norwich and Leicestershire.
This is a Daddy Long Legs - Harvestman (a type of mite)
This is a Daddy Long Legs - Cellar Spider, Pholcidae (a type of spider)
There is no debate about the classification of either animal. The debate occurs because the name "Daddy Long Legs" is used with both animals, even though they are different. The name Daddy Long Legs is apparently also used for Crane Flies, although I've never heard anyone call a Crane Fly that.
