School in England Closes Due to False Widow Spider Infestation
Posted on October 24, 2013
The Dean Academy, a secondary school in Gloucestershire, England, has closed because of a false widow spider infestation. The false widow spider, Steatoda nobilis, is Britain's most venomous spider, however no one in the U.K. has ever died from a false widow spider bite. A BBC article on the false widow says they are not aggressive. The article says symptoms from a bite can "range from feelings of numbness, severe swelling and discomfort, to various levels of burning or chest pains."
Sky News has a large photo of the spider here. The numbers of the spiders are on the rise in England.
Mark Champion from the Wildlife Trust told the BBC, "The swelling can become the size of a tennis ball. It can be something quite big but it's not something we all need to panic about."
Here is some raw footage of the spiders at the school. Take a look:
- Fossil of Giant Freshwater Turtle Discovered
- Hubble Observes Stormy Weather on Jupiter
- Australian Spider Named After Marvel's Venom
- NASA's JWST Captures New Views of NGC 604
- Ancient Giant Sea Lizard Had Dagger-Like Teeth