Is this a False Widow
Discussion
Hi, Sorry for the extremely poor quality photos but they were taken through a shed window with a shaky hand.
Saw this today and thought it looked a bit like a False Widow. Looked at loads of pictures of them and there seems to be some variation in patterning.
It was not shiny and it's abdomen was about 10 mm dia.
Only thing is that I'm in Mansfield Woodhouse and I've read that they have only made it up to about Birmingham although someone claims to have spotted them in Wakefield.
Any info welcome from "leave them alone it's a common garden spider" to "burn the shed down".
Thanks and here are the appalling photos.
Saw this today and thought it looked a bit like a False Widow. Looked at loads of pictures of them and there seems to be some variation in patterning.
It was not shiny and it's abdomen was about 10 mm dia.
Only thing is that I'm in Mansfield Woodhouse and I've read that they have only made it up to about Birmingham although someone claims to have spotted them in Wakefield.
Any info welcome from "leave them alone it's a common garden spider" to "burn the shed down".
Thanks and here are the appalling photos.
I have at least 2 false widows living in the house and aside from eating one of the giant house spiders which I really like, they've been no bother at all. That is 100% NOT a false widow......as said it's an orb weaver - often called a cross spider cos they have a cross on their back. I've been feeding one in the garden mealworms and it is absolutely huge now! Very proud
jefword said:
Hi, Sorry for the extremely poor quality photos but they were taken through a shed window with a shaky hand.
Saw this today and thought it looked a bit like a False Widow. Looked at loads of pictures of them and there seems to be some variation in patterning.
It was not shiny and it's abdomen was about 10 mm dia.
Only thing is that I'm in Mansfield Woodhouse and I've read that they have only made it up to about Birmingham although someone claims to have spotted them in Wakefield.
Any info welcome from "leave them alone it's a common garden spider" to "burn the shed down".
Thanks and here are the appalling photos.
We have loads of these in the garden and we are just down the road from you. They are lovely things to look at and keep our garden nicely free of all sorts of bugs. Saw this today and thought it looked a bit like a False Widow. Looked at loads of pictures of them and there seems to be some variation in patterning.
It was not shiny and it's abdomen was about 10 mm dia.
Only thing is that I'm in Mansfield Woodhouse and I've read that they have only made it up to about Birmingham although someone claims to have spotted them in Wakefield.
Any info welcome from "leave them alone it's a common garden spider" to "burn the shed down".
Thanks and here are the appalling photos.
OllieC said:
Yertis said:
OllieC said:
OP please don't take this as being directed at you, but what is with the hysteria around false widows !?
we had one in the factory and I found him (Boris) fascinating
They hurt.we had one in the factory and I found him (Boris) fascinating
).
Yertis said:
Yes I know but bees are easy to spot, basically if it has yellow and black stripes it's best avoided. False Widows aren't so well recognised and if you're in the habit of picking spiders up, which I am, then being bitten comes as an unpleasant surprise. Now I know what they are though I think they're quite cool, and have a little colony of them in the corner of my shed (restricting wife access to my lair ).
They won't bite if you just pick them up, they are not aggressive, it's a last ditch defence from usually just the females. They don't want to bite you as Darwin let's them know if they do, you will probably immediately squash them. I think bee sting is probably an exaggeration too. Bites are very very very very rare. ).The really big furry house spiders you often find in the bath are far more likely to bite, and despite no real venom, quite a nip.
DoubleSix said:
Nah. this is a False Widow..
That is probably a female, but there are loads of glossy black globular spiders.Edit to add, Steatoda nobilis is the one people 'panic' about, there are other false widows.
Comparing pictures on various sites, there is clearly a lot of mis-identification/inconsistency even amongst supposed experts.
Perversely, the one that looks most like a black widow is not the bad boy!
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/insects-sp...
Edited by Mr GrimNasty on Thursday 11th September 15:15
t crazy.
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