Kazuyoshi Miura (businessman) and Steatoda nobilis: Difference between pages
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{{Taxobox |
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{{Recent death|date=October 2008}} |
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| name = ''Steatoda nobilis'' |
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{{nihongo|'''Kazuyoshi Miura'''|三浦 和義|''Miura Kazuyoshi''|extra=July 27, 1947 - October 10, 2008<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24482706-12377,00.html|title='Japan's OJ Simpson' commits suicide|publisher=[[The Australian]]|date=2008-10-11|accessdate=2008-10-11}}</ref>}} was a [[Japanese people|Japanese]] businessman, who was accused of being involved in the killing of his wife, Kazumi Miura. The prolonged legal battle lasting decades ended when he committed suicide in October 2008. |
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| image = Spider 2007-3.jpg |
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| image_caption = |
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| image_width = 250px |
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| regnum = [[Animal]]ia |
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| phylum = [[Arthropod]]a |
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| classis = [[Arachnid]]a |
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| ordo = [[Spider|Araneae]] |
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| familia = [[Theridiidae]] |
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| genus = ''[[Steatoda]]'' |
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| species = '''''S. nobilis''''' |
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| binomial = ''Steatoda nobilis'' |
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| binomial_authority = ([[Tamerlan Thorell|Thorell]], 1875) |
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| range_map = Distribution.steatoda.nobilis.1.png |
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| range_map_width = 250px |
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}} |
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'''''Steatoda nobilis''''', commonly known in [[England]] as the '''biting spider''' or the '''false black widow''' (though several other species are known by the latter name), is a common species of [[spider]] in the genus [[Steatoda]]. As one of this spider's common name indicates, the spider superficially resembles, and is frequently confused for, the [[Black widow spider|black widow]] and other venomous spiders in the genus [[Latrodectus]]. The spider is native to the [[Canary Islands]] but arrived in England in around 1870 through bananas sent to [[Torquay]].<ref name="david-sapsted">{{cite news |
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== Early life == |
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|author=David Sapsted|title=Watch out, the black widow's sister is ready to bite you"|work=[[Daily Telegraph]]|date=[[2006-11-17]]|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/11/17/nspider17.xml}}</ref> In England it has a reputation as one of the few local spider species which is capable of inflicting a painful bite to humans - although this is a comparatively rare occurrence. |
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Miura was born in [[Yamanashi Prefecture]] in 1947. After dropping out of a high school in Yokohama, he was arrested for arson and served some years in a juvenile prison. |
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==Description== |
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== Attack on Kazumi Miura == |
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Miura, a clothing importer who often traveled to the [[United States]], was suspected of conspiring to kill his wife, {{nihongo|'''Kazumi Miura'''|三浦一美|''Miura Kazumi''}} on November 18, 1981, while visiting [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[California]], [[United States]]. On that day an unknown assailant shot Miura in the right leg and his wife in the head while the two were in a [[Downtown Los Angeles]] parking lot. After the shooting, Kazumi Miura remained in a coma. She was flown back to Japan via a US Air Force hospital jet. She was blind, paralyzed, unconscious and subsisting on life-support machinery. She died almost a year to the day after the shooting. Kazumi Miura was the mother of a 13-month-old child.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/los_angeles_metro/la-me-miuri31mar31,0,5730726.story?page=1|title=Man Is Convicted in Japan of L.A. Murder|publisher=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=1994-03-31|accessdate=2008-10-10}}</ref> |
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Like true [[widow spider]]s, ''S. nobilis'' has a round, bulbous, over-sized abdomen, which is darkly colored. Females typically have pale marble like markings on the dorsal side of the abdomen, with a cream-coloured band and range in size from 7mm to 14mm. Males tend to have smaller more elongated abdomens, with pale brown legs and dark brown, less patterned markings. When a mature male is ready to mate you can see his pedipalps (the mouth feelers) expand into carrot shaped balloons to accommodate a sperm covered silk sheet, ready for mating.Males of this genus are able to produce sounds during courtship by scraping teeth on the abdomen against a file on the rear of the carapace. |
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Miura said that street robbers killed his wife, and, while in the hospital, campaigned against violence in Los Angeles. Miura said that he would write letters to President [[Ronald Reagan]] and California governor [[Jerry Brown]] and ask the two to secure Los Angeles. The incident reinforced Japanese [[stereotype]]s about U.S. violence.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7261477.stm|title=Man held over wife's 1981 murder|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=2008-02-24|accessdate=2008-03-06}}</ref> |
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[[Image:Male2.jpg|thumb|Male with swollen Pedipalps]] |
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== Arrest and trial in Japan == |
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In 1984, the Japanese magazine ''Shūkan Bunshun'' published articles which indicated Miura had been involved in the killing of his wife. The articles revealed that he took out a [[life insurance]] policy on his wife worth the equivalent of [[United States dollars|US$]]1.4 million. In addition, an actress, who said she was Miura's lover, said that Miura asked her to kill his wife. [[Daryl Gates]], the chief of the [[Los Angeles Police Department]] during the Miura incident, said that the department and Japanese police suspected Miura had arranged to have his wife killed.<ref>"[http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/02/23/japan.businessman.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch Japan businessman arrested in wife's 1981 killing]." ''[[CNN]]''. February 23, 2008.</ref><ref>"[http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/02/24/japan.businessman.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch Japan businessman arrested in wife's 1981 killing]." ''[[CNN]]''. February 24, 2008.</ref> However, the shooter was never found and there were no physical evidences linking Miura to the murder.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20030401b2.html|title=Miura case came to define sensationalism|publisher=Japan Times|date=2003-04-01|accessdate=2008-10-11}}</ref> |
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==Habitat and range== |
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According to then Los Angeles District Attorney [[Ira Reiner]] LAPD homicide detectives did not believe that Miura was the perpetrator, but rather that the events had been a "vicious...street crime"<ref name="iht">{{cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/26/america/NA-GEN-US-Japanese-Businessmans-Wife.php|title=Arrest warrant says Japanese businessman orchestrated wife's killing in Los Angeles|publisher=[[International Herald Tribune]]|date=2008-02-26|accessdate=2008-03-06}}</ref>. However one officer, Jimmy Sakoda, head of the Asian Crimes Squad, did not share the homicide detectives' conclusions. He took his concerns to Reiner who then began working with Japanese prosecutors. Reiner has stated that were it not for Sakoda's persistence the case might have been relegated to the unsolved, or [[cold case]] files.<ref name="iht">[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/26/america/NA-GEN-US-Japanese-Businessmans-Wife.php Arrest warrant says Japanese businessman orchestrated wife's killing in Los Angeles - International Herald Tribune<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
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In common with other members of the ''Theridiidae'' family, ''S. nobilis'' constructs a cobweb, i.e., an irregular tangle of sticky silken fibers. As with other web-weavers, these spiders have very poor eyesight and depend mostly on vibrations reaching them through their webs to orient themselves to prey or warn them of larger animals that could injure or kill them. |
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==Distribution== |
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Miura was convicted of the murder and was sentenced to [[life imprisonment]] in [[Japan]] in 1994. Four years later, the [[Tokyo High Court]] overturned the conviction and the resulting sentence, because they were not able to identify the sniper.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-japanese2mar02,1,140660.story|title=Miura case draws media frenzy|publisher=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=2008-03-02|accessdate=2008-03-06}}</ref> In 2003, the [[Supreme Court of Japan|Supreme Court]] also acquitted him of the charge. Miura served 13 years in Japanese prisons; six years for assaulting his wife in 1985 and seven more for his vacated 1988 murder conviction. |
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The spider is found in the Canary Islands, in England around Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Devon and Cornwall, Dorset and Essex <ref>{{cite web | title = Biting spider widens its web | publisher = [[BBC News]] | date =[[2001-09-21]] | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1555039.stm}}</ref>, and in [[Madeira]]; it has also been observed in parts of continental Europe and Africa. <ref>http://www.britishspiders.org.uk/html/bas.php?page=world&taxon_key=NBNSYS0000039460 British Arachnological Society: World Distribution Map of ''S. Nobilis''</ref>. |
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==Population Growth in UK== |
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Under a 2004 California law, if convicted, the time already served will be credited against any potential sentence. If Miura had been acquitted in Japan, the US-Japan [[Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty]] would have barred their investigation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080305TDY03103.htm|title=Conspiracy focus of Miura case|publisher=[[Yomiuri Shimbun]]|date=2008-03-05|accessdate=2008-03-06}}</ref> Since that was not the case, US law enforcement was free to continue their investigation. |
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[[Image:Pregnant Steatoda nobilis.jpg|thumb|Gravid female full of eggs]] |
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The False Widow population is expected to grow dramatically in the UK due to [[global warming]]. Experts predict that in a few years they will be in every garden in the south of England and more will be spotted higher up the country. The False Widow spider first arrived in banana shipments from the [[Canary Islands]] in around 1870. <ref>Source: ITN News 05th May 2007</ref> |
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This prediction was made by Stuart Hine of the [[Natural History Museum]] and spun into a set of alarmist tabloid articles. Stuart responded on the naturenet blog, stating, "Of course I also explain the great value of spiders and how rare the event of spider bite in the UK actually is. I also always explain that up to 12 people die from wasp/bee stings in the UK each year and we do not panic so much about wasps and bees – but this never makes it past editing." <ref>[http://naturenet.net/blogs/index.php/2007/05/02/steatoda#c792 The Ranger's Blog: The truth about Steatoda nobilis - is it the UK's most dangerous spider?]</ref> |
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== Arrest by the U.S. authorities == |
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==Medical significance== |
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California authorities learned that Miura frequently visited U.S. territory on business, and waited until he made a trip to the island of [[Saipan]] in the U.S. [[Northern Mariana Islands|Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands]], where he was arrested on February 22, 2008. In Saipan he was awaiting extradition to California |
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[[Image:SteatodaNobilisWeb.jpg|thumb|Web of ''S. nobilis'']] |
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<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/23/national/main3868822.shtml|title=LAPD Nets A Japanese Cold Case Killer|publisher=''[[CBS]]''|date=February 23, 2008|accessdate=2008-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://origin.mercurynews.com/news/ci_8345857?nclick_check=1|title=Japanese man arrested on U.S. warrant for 1981 LA shooting|work=[[Mercury News]]|date=2008-02-23|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-japan23feb23,1,5576613.story?ctrack=1&cset=true|title=Man again held in his wife's 1981 killing in L.A.|publisher=''[[Los Angeles Times]]''|date=2008-02-23|accessdate=2008-02-24}}</ref> |
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They are not aggressive, and most injuries to humans are due to defensive bites delivered when a spider gets unintentionally squeezed or pinched somehow. It is possible that some bites may result when a spider mistakes a finger thrust into its web for its normal prey, but ordinarily intrusion by any large creature will cause these spiders to flee. |
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A former Federal prosecutor noted that the 27 years since the crime could help Miura's defense. "Witness memories don't get better with time," she said in an interview with the [[International Herald Tribune]].<ref name="iht">[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/26/america/NA-GEN-US-Japanese-Businessmans-Wife.php Arrest warrant says Japanese businessman orchestrated wife's killing in Los Angeles - International Herald Tribune<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Los Angels prosecutors announced that they identified the actual sniper.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.knbc.com/news/17694136/detail.html|title=Japanese Man Facing Murder Charges In LA Hangs Himself|publisher=[[KNBC]]|date=2008-10-11|accessdate=2008-10-11}}</ref> |
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Finally he was determined to be a subject of criminal case and was sent to Los Angeles, California on October 10, 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-miura11-2008oct11,0,7654084.story|title=Slaying suspect Kazuyoshi Miura returns to L.A. in custody|publisher=''[[Los Angeles Times]]''|date=2008-10-11|accessdate=2008-10-11}}</ref> That night, he committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20081011p2a00m0na015000c.html|title=Miura commits suicide in Los Angeles|publisher=Mainichi Shimbun|date=2008-10-11|accessdate=2008-10-11}}</ref> |
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The bite of ''S. nobilis'' is known to be [[spiders having medically significant venom|medically significant]] in humans, however without any long-lasting effects. The bite of this spider, along with others in the genus ''Steatoda'', can produce a set of symptoms known as '''steatodism'''. Symptoms of bites include intense pain radiating from the bite site, along with feverishness or general malaise. <ref> |
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A 2004 episode of ''[[Law & Order]]'' entitled "[[Gaijin]]", dealt with many of the aspects of the case.<ref>{{imdb title|id=0629274|title=Law & Order Episode 14.22 "Gaijin"}}</ref> His case was compared to that of [[O. J. Simpson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-japanese29feb29,0,6797368.story|title=Suspect's blog was the net that snared him|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=2008-02-29|accessdate=2008-03-31}}</ref> |
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{{cite journal |quotes=no |doi=10.1016/0041-0101(91)90198-Z |title=Neurotoxic envenoming by an immigrant spider (Steatoda nobilis) in southern England |author=D. A. Warrell, J. Shaheen, P. D. Hillyard & D. Jones |url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1801319&dopt=Abstract |journal=[[Toxicon]] |year=1991 |volume=29 |issue=10 |pages=1263–1265}}</ref> In 2006 a [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]] man spent three days in [[Dorchester County Hospital]] with symptoms of heart seizure, after suffering a spider bite believed to be caused by ''S. nobilis''. (A spider was observed in the act of biting the man; however it was not captured and positively identified by an expert).<ref name="david-sapsted"/> |
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The bite of ''S. nobilis'', like other ''Steatoda'' spiders is far less dangerous to humans than that of true black widows. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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<references |
<references/> |
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<!--unused reference: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=452264&in_page_id=1770 Warning over rise in UK's most dangerous spider due to warmer winters - Daily Mail--> |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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{{commons}} |
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* [http://www.0823.org/ Official Website] {{ja icon}} |
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* [http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/THERIDIIDAE.html World Spider Catalog: Family ''Theridiidae''] |
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* [http://uksafari.com/falsewidows.htm UKSafari.com: False widow spiders] |
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* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ray.hamblett1/nature/spiders.steatoda.html Steatoda nobilis images] |
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* [http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/40002378/ PatientPlus: Spider bites] |
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{{Lifetime|1947|2008|Miura, Kazuyoshi}} |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Spiders of Europe]] |
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[[Category:Japanese businesspeople]] |
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[[Category:Suicides by hanging in the United States]] |
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[[Category:People from Yamanashi Prefecture]] |
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[[fr:Steatoda nobilis]] |
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Revision as of 01:36, 12 October 2008
| Steatoda nobilis | |
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| Species: | S. nobilis
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| Steatoda nobilis (Thorell, 1875)
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Steatoda nobilis, commonly known in England as the biting spider or the false black widow (though several other species are known by the latter name), is a common species of spider in the genus Steatoda. As one of this spider's common name indicates, the spider superficially resembles, and is frequently confused for, the black widow and other venomous spiders in the genus Latrodectus. The spider is native to the Canary Islands but arrived in England in around 1870 through bananas sent to Torquay.[1] In England it has a reputation as one of the few local spider species which is capable of inflicting a painful bite to humans - although this is a comparatively rare occurrence.
Description
Like true widow spiders, S. nobilis has a round, bulbous, over-sized abdomen, which is darkly colored. Females typically have pale marble like markings on the dorsal side of the abdomen, with a cream-coloured band and range in size from 7mm to 14mm. Males tend to have smaller more elongated abdomens, with pale brown legs and dark brown, less patterned markings. When a mature male is ready to mate you can see his pedipalps (the mouth feelers) expand into carrot shaped balloons to accommodate a sperm covered silk sheet, ready for mating.Males of this genus are able to produce sounds during courtship by scraping teeth on the abdomen against a file on the rear of the carapace.
Habitat and range
In common with other members of the Theridiidae family, S. nobilis constructs a cobweb, i.e., an irregular tangle of sticky silken fibers. As with other web-weavers, these spiders have very poor eyesight and depend mostly on vibrations reaching them through their webs to orient themselves to prey or warn them of larger animals that could injure or kill them.
Distribution
The spider is found in the Canary Islands, in England around Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Devon and Cornwall, Dorset and Essex [2], and in Madeira; it has also been observed in parts of continental Europe and Africa. [3].
Population Growth in UK
The False Widow population is expected to grow dramatically in the UK due to global warming. Experts predict that in a few years they will be in every garden in the south of England and more will be spotted higher up the country. The False Widow spider first arrived in banana shipments from the Canary Islands in around 1870. [4]
This prediction was made by Stuart Hine of the Natural History Museum and spun into a set of alarmist tabloid articles. Stuart responded on the naturenet blog, stating, "Of course I also explain the great value of spiders and how rare the event of spider bite in the UK actually is. I also always explain that up to 12 people die from wasp/bee stings in the UK each year and we do not panic so much about wasps and bees – but this never makes it past editing." [5]
Medical significance
They are not aggressive, and most injuries to humans are due to defensive bites delivered when a spider gets unintentionally squeezed or pinched somehow. It is possible that some bites may result when a spider mistakes a finger thrust into its web for its normal prey, but ordinarily intrusion by any large creature will cause these spiders to flee.
The bite of S. nobilis is known to be medically significant in humans, however without any long-lasting effects. The bite of this spider, along with others in the genus Steatoda, can produce a set of symptoms known as steatodism. Symptoms of bites include intense pain radiating from the bite site, along with feverishness or general malaise. [6] In 2006 a Dorchester man spent three days in Dorchester County Hospital with symptoms of heart seizure, after suffering a spider bite believed to be caused by S. nobilis. (A spider was observed in the act of biting the man; however it was not captured and positively identified by an expert).[1]
The bite of S. nobilis, like other Steatoda spiders is far less dangerous to humans than that of true black widows.
References
- ^ a b David Sapsted (2006-11-17). "Watch out, the black widow's sister is ready to bite you"". Daily Telegraph.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Biting spider widens its web". BBC News. 2001-09-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://www.britishspiders.org.uk/html/bas.php?page=world&taxon_key=NBNSYS0000039460 British Arachnological Society: World Distribution Map of S. Nobilis
- ^ Source: ITN News 05th May 2007
- ^ The Ranger's Blog: The truth about Steatoda nobilis - is it the UK's most dangerous spider?
- ^
D. A. Warrell, J. Shaheen, P. D. Hillyard & D. Jones (1991). "Neurotoxic envenoming by an immigrant spider (Steatoda nobilis) in southern England". Toxicon. 29 (10): 1263–1265. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(91)90198-Z.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|quotes=ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Steatoda nobilis.