Stuart Coleman, 50, woke up to the "really strange" pain in his right hand in the early hours of Wednesday morning. from Long Rock, Cornwall, was alarmed to see a squashed spider under his pillow - which he was later able to identify as a false widow. A new study, published in the international medical journal Clinical Toxicology this week, found noble false widow spider bites can pack such a severe punch that victims require hospital treatment. Originating from Madeira and the Canary Islands, the noble false widow spider, Steatoda nobilis, has the potential to become one of the world's most invasive species of spider. The species, named for its close resemblance to the deadly black widow spider, was first documented in Britain more than 140 years ago.

Source: Daily Mirror June 04, 2021 17:29 UTC