[Faline]

A father out shopping for toys with his daughter has told how he was bitten ten times by the UK’s most dangerous spider.

Chris Galton, 31, collapsed after the false widow spider - closely related to the black widow - repeatedly bit into his back and neck at the Toys R Us store in Hampshire on Saturday afternoon.

The exotic creature is believed to have nestled in his hooded top after dropping from a bush near his home in Southampton.

It wasn’t until hours later when he was shopping in the toy store with his wife, Zoe, and his one-year-old daughter, Imogen, that the poison started to take effect.
Suddenly feeling unwell, Mr Galton collapsed to the floor.
He was rushed to hospital where doctors discovered the ten 50-pence-sized marks on his body.

The father-of-one was given painkillers and was released the same day.
Speaking about the horrifying ordeal, Mr Galton said: “The bite was like a really sharp pin-prick and very painful. The next thing I knew I was feeling hot, queasy and light-headed and collapsed.
“I had been stung earlier but assumed it was a bee and took some anti-histamine pills. I didn’t think any more of it until I was shopping for my daughter’s first birthday and felt more stings.”

A store worker said: "It was a very scary big spider. I’ve never see one like it before.”

The eight-legged attacker, which is closely-related to the black widow and originates from the Canary Islands, was eventually caught in the store and sent for formal identification.

Mr Galton added: “I’m just thankful it never jumped out and got on to my daughter.”

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2...-uk105179.html

[Faline]

False widow aka Steatoda nobilis


Steatoda nobilis, commonly known in England as the biting spider or the false 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. 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.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steatoda_nobilis

[HairyGrape]

Fuck that!!

[johnleeknoefler]

I would think that after the first sting he would of done something. Like take off his jacket and shake it out. But ten stings? He must of been drunk.

[Syphilis]

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

And spiders...fuck spiders.

[Dynamo47]

Cool story and glad he survived; especially with a one year old child.

[Flaka]

I'd die of a heart attack just by seeing one lol

[ices]

Black widows are black with red markings?

How the fuck can you mistake that for a real Widow is beyond me. Personally I would waste that sucker with my foot.

[kellyhound]

hate spiders

[Karma]

Yuck. Never heard of them before. Nasty little buggers. Anything bigger than a money spider gives me the creeps. I try to avoid spiders at all costs. Don't kill 'em though, unless it's a case of them or me!