After a little clean out of the garage this weekend, I disturbed my first female False Widow Spider from a cardboard box in the corner. This particular False Widow (Steatoda grossa) is also called the 'Cupboard Spider' and for the obvious reason that it used to turn up in cupboards / out houses. This is different however to the False Widow's that I have in my Shed (Steatoda bipunctata) also called the 'Rabbit Hutch Spider', which is conveniently named considering that my shed was formally used to home rabbits by the previous home owners.
I don't have a Macro lens, so these pictures are taken with my phone. Both spiders below are the 'Cupboard Spiders' from my garage, a second female of which I found today surrounded by the much smaller males in a pathetic excuse of a web. False Widow webs aren't very elaborate but are however much harder to see, therefor just as effective.
I know lots of people don't like Spiders, especially ones with such a reputation as these for biting, but don't believe all the hype you hear about these. Yes they can bite but they rarely do. The bite itself for most people is just like a wasp sting, but just like bees and wasps, some people have an allergic reaction, resulting in being hospitalised. I personally have been bitten in the centre of my back by one of these and it was painful, but I'm still here.
