False widow in my garage?

[Glamdring]

Umm...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-29414450

Not nice.

[adzman808]

Umm...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-29414450

Not nice.

Not nice at all, however

from the same link

• There have been no reported deaths from its bite in the UK, they are not considered aggressive and generally symptoms are no worse than for a bee or wasp sting

Also, i'm not sure that the picture is the same spider as in the OP's pic!

[Graeme]

Hi Guys,
Im sorry to redurect an old thread, it was actually the first thing I thouht off when i saw these spiders.

I found lots of these on my shed last night, can any of you guys ID it 100%?

Thanks Graeme

[CaptainSlow]

soundood will know. His dad kills them for a living.

:)

[alexaff]

Hi Guys,
Im sorry to redurect an old thread, it was actually the first thing I thouht off when i saw these spiders.

I found lots of these on my shed last night, can any of you guys ID it 100%?

Thanks Graeme

That looks like a naughty one!!

[markrlondon]

Hi Guys,
Im sorry to redurect an old thread, it was actually the first thing I thouht off when i saw these spiders.

I found lots of these on my shed last night, can any of you guys ID it 100%?

Thanks Graeme

A noble false widow, Steatoda nobilis, I think.

Your pic:


Good comparison pics here: http://www.uksafari.com/falsewidows.htm

[Graeme]

A noble false widow, Steatoda nobilis, I think.

Your pic:


Good comparison pics here: http://www.uksafari.com/falsewidows.htm

Thanks, there are hundreds of the little buggers around. There has always been spiders in the garden but never like this.

For any of the Irish members reading this, I live in north Co Wicklow.

[Artistmike]

Thanks, there are hundreds of the little buggers around. There has always been spiders in the garden but never like this.

For any of the Irish members reading this, I live in north Co Wicklow.

Apparently it's been a very good year for spiders and Steatoda Nobilis is a well established species in Ireland now. That's definitely one and a very healthy specimen by the looks of things. I was seeing loads in my garden yesterday too, this warm autumn seems to be suiting them. Mind you they survived that very cold winter we had here a few years ago easly so I think from here on in we can consider them a new native species... Just try not to upset them to much ..

[stooo]

Thanks, there are hundreds of the little buggers around. There has always been spiders in the garden but never like this.

For any of the Irish members reading this, I live in north Co Wicklow.

That's Co. Wicklow off my holiday list.

[Beaunidle]

Woke up this morning to find one sitting on the ceiling directly above my face -uuuurgh!

First one I'd ever seen (and only knew about them from seeing this thread).

Trapped with glass and playing card and euthanised with a drop of ether (wanted to positively ID rather than squish and not know if they were in the house.

Missing sector orb web spider, phew!

Ugly bugger though (wife and daughter fairly phobic so REALLY glad it wasn't what I feared) and not what you want to see over your face first thing in the morning.

[markrlondon]

Woke up this morning to find one sitting on the ceiling directly above my face -uuuurgh!

First one I'd ever seen (and only knew about them from seeing this thread).

Trapped with glass and playing card and euthanised with a drop of ether (wanted to positively ID rather than squish and not know if they were in the house.

Missing sector orb web spider, phew!

Ugly bugger though (wife and daughter fairly phobic so REALLY glad it wasn't what I feared) and not what you want to see over your face first thing in the morning.

Do you have a pic? There are lots of missing sector spiders round here but they're usually quite small from what I've seen.

[Beaunidle]

Here's the blighter;

[markrlondon]

Here's the blighter;

[pics]

Thanks! I think that might be a walnut orb weaver, Nuctenea umbratica. They grow larger than missing sector spiders.

Pics here: http://www.uksafari.com/nucteneaumbratica.htm

[Beaunidle]

Well spotted - looks like the chap in question. Thank you.

I'll lock up my walnuts!

[PipPip]

Two people on the same floor in our London office were bitten by something in September and became quite ill. One had such a bad reaction that he was in a coma. They decided to get the office inspected/fumigated (it was closed for 3 days!). It turned out to be teaming with false widows. Thankfully the two individuals are OK now. Its possible plenty others were bitten and these two individuals had an allergic reaction but it was certainly quite scary. The office is right in the heart of the city near the Bank of England.

[markrlondon]

Two people on the same floor in our London office were bitten by something in September and became quite ill. One had such a bad reaction that he was in a coma. They decided to get the office inspected/fumigated (it was closed for 3 days!). It turned out to be teaming with false widows. Thankfully the two individuals are OK now. Its possible plenty others were bitten and these two individuals had an allergic reaction but it was certainly quite scary. The office is right in the heart of the city near the Bank of England.

Yuck!!

[mtagrant]

Found this one on the ceiling in my hallway this morning:


Looks a little like Steatoda nobilis from one of the links on here based on the markings on the back, although it was on the small side, and had bands around its legs.
With very young children around the house I was taking no chances, so it is no longer on the ceiling in my hallway!

Can anyone confirm or deny what this one is?

[markrlondon]

Found this one on the ceiling in my hallway this morning:
[pic]

Looks a little like Steatoda nobilis from one of the links on here based on the markings on the back, although it was on the small side, and had bands around its legs.
With very young children around the house I was taking no chances, so it is no longer on the ceiling in my hallway!

Can anyone confirm or deny what this one is?

I'm pretty sure that is not a false widow. It looks to me like a type of garden spider, a Walnut Orb Weaver (Nuctenea umbratica) like the one that Beaunidle found above: #60 and #62.

I have noticed that they come into houses at this time of year to avoid the cold weather. Features that lead me to think it is a walnut orb weaver are its banded legs, the general colouring, colour pattern on the abdomen (as far as I can tell in thee photo), and the shape of the abdomen.

Here's a link with some info: http://www.uksafari.com/nucteneaumbratica.htm

Completely harmless and very, very common in gardens. Along with the rather similar Cross Spider (otherwise simply known as the 'Garden Spider', Araneus diadematus) they often make webs across paths between bushes.




P.S. If you haven't flattened it then it might be interesting to capture it and see if it lives through the winter. I don't know how long these spiders can live. My guess is that the vast majority are killed off every year by cold weather but since they do seem to seek shelter it could be that they can live multiple years.

[mtagrant]

Unfortunately it is flattened in my garden, so no opportunity to see how long it can live. The banding did give it away in the end it seems, but wasn't prepared to take the chance. These threads do get you paranoid :)