Anyone know what type of spider this is?

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Minnie,that spider is the one,I'm 99% sure,as is my work mate.

What is it,and is it a safe spider?

Apparently it's a brown house spider. Tickle its ribs and see if it'll bite you

Unlike the red-back spider the bite of the brown house spider is not lethal, but may cause headaches or nausea. Small blisters may occur around the bite site.

 

[selamlar]

http://museumvictoria.com.au/spiders/detail.aspx?id=3

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Does this look more like it?

These spiders belong to the same family of comb footed spiders as the redback and brown widow. Steatoda</EM> species have shiny, slender legs, with a small cephalothorax and a larger abdomen, which is somewhat egg-shaped in Steatoda. Mature females grow to about 1.2 cm, while the males are slightly smaller. The colour can range from a brown or reddish plum to satiny black. The abdomen often has white or beige spots, a frontal crescent, and sometimes, small red spots or a thin red line (but never a stripe like a Redback Spider). They build a tangled-looking web with sticky lines (a gum-footed web) under rocks, timber and bark in the bush. Bites from Steatoda species occur infrequently. The bite of the brown house spider is not lethal, but may cause headaches or nausea. Small blisters may occur around the bite site. It can be treated with Red back antivenom.

 

[xes]

it looks exactly the same as the one you posted before,which i quoted. identicle.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

and as others have said, also known as a false black widow apparently

 

[selamlar]

Thats the exact one!

(strangely square and white, with a red cross on its back)

 

[xes]

cool,got a false black widow

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

it looks exactly the same as the one you posted before,which i quoted. identicle.

well if you give it a nudge in the ribs and get bitten you'll get a few days off sick

 

[xes]

well if you give it a nudge in the ribs and get bitten you'll get a few days off sick

I think I'll give that a miss,taa

 

[xes]

the guy from uksafari doesn't know what type of spider this is!

He says it's definatly not a uk spider.

 

[absinthe pirate]

I once nearly put my hand on a real black widow in florida, calmly walked away then screamed for about a minute

 

[Meltingpot]

Jeez...glad I wasn't eating when I read this thread. I once also picked up a black widow (spider ) in an old beer can in the Nevada desert, when searching for aluminium to sell on behalf of the church I was staying with.

It was wintertime, I was wearing thick protective gloves and the spider didn't look very active so I don't think I was in any great danger.

One of the few mildly interesting things that have happened to me in life

 

[selamlar]

Come on then, what was it?