“Unidentified” Spider Found In Sinky Bay Area
[Updated] Yesterday [Oct 7] a Bernews reader emailed in a photo of a spider they found in the Sinky Bay area, questioning whether it could possibly be a black or brown widow spider.
The Department of Environmental Protection were not able to confirm exactly what the spider was, as they need to be able to physically assess the spider to do so, and this spider “met its maker” after being found, so was unavailable for assessment.
The spider was found on October 5th in the Sinky Bay area:
Speaking in general about brown/black widow spiders, the Department said, ““Tropical brown widow spiders are present throughout the island and were established some time prior to 1980’s according to our records.
“The spider has significant variation in colouration and can be light brown with dark bands on the legs to a very dark brown which often accounts for the confusion with the black widow.
“However the egg sacs can confirm the difference between the two spiders as they look quite different.
“Reports vary regarding the toxicity of the venom of the tropical brown widow but this spider is generally considered less likely to bite, less aggressive and do not defend its web as vigorously as black widows.
“However, it is important for the public to remember that all spiders bite and therefore none should be handled or provoked.
“The Department regularly receives calls from concerned members of the public regarding brown/black widow identifications.
“To date, black widow spiders are not known to be established on the island and all specimens collected from Bermuda and brought for identification have been brown widow spiders.”
In July 2011, the Department of Environmental Protection confirmed that a black widow spider was delivered to the government entomologist for identification after it was found in imported red grapes that were purchased from a local grocery store.
Update: As a point of comparison, example of the brown/black widow spiders are below
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Slipper, shoe, baygon, house insect bomb – gets um all
The markings suggest its a Black Widow, would’ve been nice if they caught or killed it with bug spray and brought it in to the relevant parties for proper identification. Having been found in the wild, its fairly safe to assume there’s a fair possibility that it is established in the area.
just…don’t put it in your mouth…
Looks like d same one that bit Peter Parker & crawled away…I wanna be SpiderMan next
This is definitely a black widow.
Ah – definitely a BLACK widow from that pic! Also, I am pretty sure we had heard of a few of these on the porches of some units up at Loughlands soon after the 3rd phase was complete. They are definitely here (and not just in those bunch of grapes)!