'Alarming' rise in False Widow spiders in Ireland

Hamsterchops

Hamsterchops wrote: »

Holy crap, sounds like they've taken over from the common variety of house spider :eek:

To a point yes - numerically speaking they are one of / the most numerous spiders in our country now. And there is sign they are evolving to be more tolerant of our climate so they are spreading better now as they are no long attracted solely to the warmth offered by peoples homes.

But as Collie says in the interview with D'Arcy above the common Cellar Spider (which many of us call the daddy long legs) are "spider eating specialists". So if you see a few of them around your house you probably do not have much in the way of False Widows in your house.

Which maybe should be pause to the "just kill every spider you see" type posters who have posted on the thread.

Hoboo

If this thread is a true reflection of the country, Ireland needs to zip up it's fanny. It's a spider ffs.

archfi

Deleted User wrote: »

To a point yes - numerically speaking they are one of / the most numerous spiders in our country now. And there is sign they are evolving to be more tolerant of our climate so they are spreading better now as they are no long attracted solely to the warmth offered by peoples homes.

But as Collie says in the interview with D'Arcy above the common Cellar Spider (which many of us call the daddy long legs) are "spider eating specialists". So if you see a few of them around your house you probably do not have much in the way of False Widows in your house.

Which maybe should be pause to the "just kill every spider you see" type posters who have posted on the thread.

I don't think spider lovers need to worry

"Since I like spiders, I was pleased to read a rough estimate of 21 quadrillion for the world’s population of spiders (source: here)."

Hamsterchops

Hoboo wrote: »

If this thread is a true reflection of the country, Ireland needs to zip up it's fanny. It's a spider ffs.

Say what :P

I don't want them going near my wife's fanny, that's for sure. Private property, no spider need enter the fanny.

Cilldara_2000

JimmyVik wrote: »

At least 200 of them have hatched out on that web and are now crawling around your house
Maybe not into your bed, but thats where id go if i was a false widow

I don't understand the though process. They're not going to catch much food in someone's bed unless there are significant other hygiene issues! By teh sounds of it, I'd be staying well away from your bed. :pac:

Incidentally Wiki tells me that "In Ireland, they were observed to be captured by common suburban spiders like the cellar spider or the lace-webbed spider."

A google search for this "lace-webbed spider" fella shows this as teh first image result:



I wouldn't be surprised if half the people thinking they're killing noble false widow spiders are probably killing these lads.

archfi

archfi wrote: »

I don't think spider lovers need to worry

"Since I like spiders, I was pleased to read a rough estimate of 21 quadrillion for the world’s population of spiders (source: here)."

Indeed - the "kill them on sight" people tend to forget that the ones they actually see and kill probably make up a minutia of the spiders that are actually in the house. In fact I heard one person suggest there are so many spiders in our homes that no matter where you sit down in your house - there is a good chance one is looking directly at you. No idea how true that is. But I love the image.

In evolution terms therefore the people killing the ones they see are just putting Selection Pressures to select for the sneakier more ninjitsu ones and selecting out the ones that let themselves get seen too easily.

Occasionally around late summer we tend to hear stories about spiders allegedly "invading" homes. People find spiders suddenly coming into their homes in droves. Actually this is not true - it's just the spiders that were _already in the homes for weeks or months already_ start going on the move because they are horny.

But anyone genuinely worried about False Widows - which they hardly need to be - should generally be all for finding the "Daddy Long Legs" in their house. In fact they should be asking all their friends and family's to bring them more

JimmyVik

Deleted User wrote: »

To a point yes - numerically speaking they are one of / the most numerous spiders in our country now. And there is sign they are evolving to be more tolerant of our climate so they are spreading better now as they are no long attracted solely to the warmth offered by peoples homes.

But as Collie says in the interview with D'Arcy above the common Cellar Spider (which many of us call the daddy long legs) are "spider eating specialists". So if you see a few of them around your house you probably do not have much in the way of False Widows in your house.

Which maybe should be pause to the "just kill every spider you see" type posters who have posted on the thread.

I have House spiders, cellar spiders and false widows in the house.
I think they are having parties between the walls at night. They definitely arent eating each other.

SEPT 23 1989

Hoboo wrote: »

If this thread is a true reflection of the country, Ireland needs to zip up it's fanny. It's a spider ffs.

RTE told me last night I may end up in hospital if I was attacked by one of these beasts

thats why we are all terrified

JimmyVik

Hamsterchops wrote: »

Say what :P

I don't want them going near my wife's fanny, that's for sure. Private property, no spider need enter the fanny.

Why do you think they like beds so much

JimmyVik

Cilldara_2000 wrote: »

I don't understand the though process. They're not going to catch much food in someone's bed unless there are significant other hygiene issues! By teh sounds of it, I'd be staying well away from your bed. :pac:

Incidentally Wiki tells me that "In Ireland, they were observed to be captured by common suburban spiders like the cellar spider or the lace-webbed spider."

A google search for this "lace-webbed spider" fella shows this as teh first image result:



I wouldn't be surprised if half the people thinking they're killing noble false widow spiders are probably killing these lads.

Apparently they are after the fannies, not the dirt in the beds
That fella looks nothing like a false widow. Thats just spider racism right there

SEPT 23 1989

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

RTE told me last night I may end up in hospital if I was attacked by one of these beasts

thats why we are all terrified

The power of click bait attention grabbing head lines You take something that is technically true and phrase it in a way that makes it sound at all likely - and suddenly everyone is in terror.

The word to focus on here is "may" however. If you get stung by a wasp tomorrow you "may" end up in hospital too. If you fly in an air plane tomorrow you "may" end up in a plane crash. If you eat a peanut you "may" die of anaphylaxis.

"May" is a powerful word. The reality is that just about all of us can sit on an airplane eating peanuts with a spider bite on one arm and a wasp sting on the other arm and we will all be just fine.

Gregor Samsa

sky12345 wrote: »

Their Latin name, translated into English, basically means 'King of Pain', which should tell you enough.

Do you have a source for that?

Their scientific name is Steatoda nobilis. Steatoda is the genus - there's over 120 different spiders in it. The root "steato" is Greek (not Latin) and relates to fatty matter or tissue.

Steatoda nobilis is a compound of Greek and Latin (like many scientific names) and basically means "Noble fatso".

Housefree

RTE needs to show the movie Arachnophobia to calm everyone down

plodder

plodder wrote: »

Indeed. They had the sunshine, but at least we didn't have the dangerous spiders .. until now ...

What next? Crocodiles?

Drop bears.
Nasty blighters

Cilldara_2000

JimmyVik wrote: »

Apparently they are after the fannies, not the dirt in the beds
That fella looks nothing like a false widow. Thats just spider racism right there

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/take-part/identify-nature/spiders-in-your-home/false-widow-spiders.html#:~:text=Other%20spiders%20mistaken%20for%20false,These%20are%20harmless%20to%20humans.

Two species of spiders commonly found around UK homes and mistaken for false widows are the missing sector orb weaver (Zygiella x-notata) and the lace webbed spider (Amaurobius sp.). These are harmless to humans. Please follow the links for more information on these spiders.

It happens

sky12345

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

Do you have a source for that?

Their scientific name is Steatoda nobilis. Steatoda is the genus - there's over 120 different spiders in it. The root "steato" is Greek (not Latin) and relates to fatty matter or tissue.

Steatoda nobilis is a compound of Greek and Latin (like many scientific names) and basically means "Noble fatso".

It's a very fast and loose translation, sorry. That would refer to the bulbous nature of their bodies. The word 'Steatodism' itself though refers to 'envenomation'. Thanks for the correction. Here's the reference to steatodism:


Envenomation by the noble false widow spider Steatoda nobilis (Thorell, 1875) –five new cases of steatodism from Ireland and Great Britain
John P. Dunbar, Sam Afoullouss, Ronan Sulpice and Michel M. Dugon

Gregor Samsa

^^ but the term "steatodism" seems to be called after the spiders, not the other way round. "Envenomation" is just the process of an animal injecting venom in a bite or sting.

Look, I'm not dismissing that they're relatively medically significant - more so to a small group of unlucky people. But so are wasp and bees. Sure, we don't invite them into our houses, and we get rid of them when they encroach on us, but we don't live in fear of them either.

Gregor Samsa

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

"Noble fatso".

I so have a new nick name for my brother now.

sky12345

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

^^ but the term "steatodism" seems to be called after the spiders, not the other way round. "Envenomation" is just the process of an animal injecting venom in a bite or sting.

Look, I'm not dismissing that they're relatively medically significant - more so to a small group of unlucky people. But so are wasp and bees. Sure, we don't invite them into our houses, and we get rid of them when they encroach on us, but we don't live in fear of them either.

I think this is exactly the right attitude to have tbh.

I guess the real bigger picture is whether we will see more risky invasive species in Ireland going forward as the climate begins to change.

fryup

what happens if it bites you on the mickey?

Gregor Samsa

fryup wrote: »

what happens if it bites you on the mickey?

You shoot webs.

(Seriously though, I'd say that would be a medical emergency)

SouthWesterly

sky12345 wrote: »

I think this is exactly the right attitude to have tbh.

I guess the real bigger picture is whether we will see more risky invasive species in Ireland going forward as the climate begins to change.

I've got new Zealand flat worms on my land. Deadly to any earthworms they meet

TheValeyard

sky12345 wrote: »

I think this is exactly the right attitude to have tbh.

I guess the real bigger picture is whether we will see more risky invasive species in Ireland going forward as the climate begins to change.

I heard this spiders success is not actually down to climate change as previously thought but rather a mutation within the spider itself. I'll try find the article if I can.

Car99

Buddy Bubs wrote: »

Is it more alarming, less alarming or the same amount of alarming as the last times this same story came up?
Alarming rise in the use of dramatic headlines.

There was a study done and it's all the extroverts fault for the use of hyperbole to report mundane topics to the point there is no where left to go with it . We've reached max hyperbole and no one gives a **** about anything anymore. Epic uber stuff.

Wibbs

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

You shoot webs.

(Seriously though, I'd say that would be a medical emergency)

I dunno G, when I got bitten in the thumb it swelled up by about a third its usual size, so if got jabbed in the michael, I'd say when life gives you lemons make lemonade, take two nurofen and play on.

Gregor Samsa

Wibbs wrote: »

I dunno G, when I got bitten in the thumb it swelled up by about a third its usual size, so if got jabbed in the michael, I'd say when life gives you lemons make lemonade, take two nurofen and play on.

Actually…

“A Brazilian spider delivers more than a painful bite that sends most victims to the hospital. Its venom stimulates an hours-long erection. Now scientists have figured out the chemical that seems to be responsible for the penis boost. In Brazil, emergency room staff can immediately spot the victims of a bite from the Brazilian wandering spider (Phoneutria nigriventer). Patients not only experience overall pain and an increase in blood pressure, they also sport an uncomfortable erection.”

https://www.livescience.com/4429-natural-viagra-spider-bite-erection.html

xhomelezz

Time to import few so.

TheValeyard

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

Actually…

“A Brazilian spider delivers more than a painful bite that sends most victims to the hospital. Its venom stimulates an hours-long erection. Now scientists have figured out the chemical that seems to be responsible for the penis boost. In Brazil, emergency room staff can immediately spot the victims of a bite from the Brazilian wandering spider (Phoneutria nigriventer). Patients not only experience overall pain and an increase in blood pressure, they also sport an uncomfortable erection.”

https://www.livescience.com/4429-natural-viagra-spider-bite-erection.html

That must cause cause some weird sexual confusion is some guys

"the spider bit me and I think I liked it?"

kifi

spray adhesive

ILoveYourVibes

KILL THEM WITH FIRE