Deadly spider found
A spider found at Christ- * church Airport in December has been identified as a poisonous black, widow. The spider, was found by agricultural officers in- a crate of aircraft parts from the United States. It was' identified by: staff of the Plant Health and Diagnostic Station at Levin. The interception, was only. the fourth in the last 12? years. ?. The black widow spider - has venom 15 times more ■ potent than . that of a rattlesnake. However, bites are not always fatal. Dr Sui Kai Wong, of the diagnostic station, said black
’ widow spiders were intercepted much less frequently than their Australian cousins, the red-back spider. The heavier volume of trade with* Australia probably accounted for that, said Dr Wong. Five varieties of black widow spiders occur in the United States. The females ..are black with a body about ?12mm long and a red hourglass figure on the underside of the abdomen, v . The male has longer legs and a-narrower abdomen, The spider controls the amount of poison ejected from its glands depending on the . size of its victim.
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Press, 21 January 1983, Page 4
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180Deadly spider found Press, 21 January 1983, Page 4
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