Black widows found in Bristol re-homed

A pair of black widow spiders found in a classic car have found a new home at Bristol Zoo.


The infamously deadly spiders were found nesting in a 1964 Ford Falcon which was imported into Britain last January, but were only discovered when restoration began a week ago.

Mechanics at the Bicester-based Damax found one in the fuel tank and another behind the dashboard.

They identified the spiders online before putting them in a lunchbox and trying to find a home for them.

Garage manager Robin Ward said he was not scared of spiders, but nevertheless was shocked when he discovered the pair were black widows.

"We brought the car over in January and it had been stored in a garage until last week when our mechanic started getting it ready to work on.

"We found the first spider tucked under the fuel tank and carefully put it in a plastic container and looked on the internet to try and identify it.

"We continued stripping the car with a great deal of caution, and couldn't believe it when we found a second spider under the dashboard," he said.

He added: "We would have never found either of the spiders had we not completely stripped the car but we've finished it now and are 100% certain that there are no more."

Bristol Zoo says the find came at just the right time as their resident black widow had recently died of old age.

Mark Bushell, assistant curator of invertebrates, said they were not as deadly as people thought, but "could still do some quite serious harm and their bite would certainly cause health problems".

One of the spiders will go on display in a replica outside toilet in the "Bug World" section of the zoo. The other will be kept off show.

The spiders, native to the US, are rarely fatal but can cause cramps and fever. Only the females are venomous, and are known for eating their male companions after mating.


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