thanxWhat species of spiders are there in cyprus?
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What species of spiders are there in cyprus?
by Lovemaster1995 » Sat Mar 17, 2007 10:31 am
On my last visit to cyprus i saw running down my bed a giant red bug ( i believe was a spider) I was so nervous i swapped beds! I freaked out because it was bright red! I was wondering if anyone could give me any info on cyprus spiders and give me any websites thanx
thanx-
Lovemaster1995 - New Member
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by jambo » Sat Mar 17, 2007 10:48 am
I remember I seen one outside a bar one night.
big black and hairy...
I tried to put a pint glass over the top of it,
and it was so big , that i cut the ends of its legs off
with the edge of the glass, all the way around ... !!
big black and hairy...
I tried to put a pint glass over the top of it,
and it was so big , that i cut the ends of its legs off
with the edge of the glass, all the way around ... !!
- jambo
- Contributor
- Posts: 367
- Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 2:14 pm
by jambo » Sat Mar 17, 2007 11:01 am
Here.. I went through the archives of the cyprus mail,
as i was sure I had seem articles :
The story I told you about above,, was when i was living in paralimini ..
===================================
Watch out! Venomous black widows on the prowl in Cyprus
By Alex Mita
(archive article - Sunday, August 15, 2004)
A SINISTER predator is on the prowl. With venom 15 times more powerful than that of a rattlesnake and about the size of a grape its name alone is enough to send shivers down your spine. The black widow spider is a killing machine, and it could be here.
A local spider enthusiast seems to have stumbled on what could be a new species of widow spider, a relative of the infamous black widow, Latrodectus mactans, while clearing rocks at a field in Dhali, Nicosia.
Duncan McCowan told the Sunday Mail that he put the spider in a glass bottle and took it home. A few hours later he was on the phone to the Natural History Museum in London.
“I knew that there were black widows in the Balkan area so I knew it was possible that there might be such a spider in Cyprus,” he said.
I brought it back and strangely enough in a book about spiders that I had bought for my children, there was a drawing of a northern black widow, and what was strange about the spider that I had found was that it had similar red marks on its abdomen to that of the spider in the drawing.”
McCowan spoke to a man called Paul Hillyard, the Curator of Arachnida and Myriapoda of the Natural History Museum in London.
Hillyard asked for a sample, Mcowan sent the spider he had found, and then waited.
Two weeks later he rang the museum again. Hillyard confirmed that the spider McCowan had found belonged to the family of black widows.
“He asked me to describe the area where I had found the spider and then gave me advice on where and how to find some more,” McCowan said.
“So I went back to the field and in an upturned bucket I found that one had made its nest with the male in there as well.”
McCowan managed to catch the spider but lost the male. He sent the new specimen to Hillyard and a few weeks later he got a letter. It was from Hillyard.
It said: “Some time ago you sent me a spider from Cyprus which is undoubtedly a ‘Widow’ spider (Latrodectus sp.) It is in fact related to the Black Widow spider of America and the Red-back spider of Australia. Probably there is little doubt that your spider is venomous.”
But what Hillyard wrote next was even more interesting. He said: “I have been trying to identify the specimen to species level but I have been unable to place it with any of the known species of Latrodectus (six in number) from the Eastern Mediterranean Region.
“I consider it to be an unknown, undescribed species, perhaps one that is unique (endemic) to Cyprus…I suspect that Latrodectus has been overlooked in Cyprus.”
Could the spider that McCowan sent be a new species of the venomous spider?
Although no one knows whether a black widow made its way to the island somehow and evolved into an endemic species, the discovery of the venomous predator could be the key to unexplained deaths of children and men over sixty, people most vulnerable to the venom.
Although only up to five per cent of people who are bitten die from a black widow bite, McCowan is concerned over the lack of knowledge by the local Health Services of the spider’s existence.
Doctors from the Nicosia General hospital this week confirmed that there is no anti-venom on the island to deal with a widow bite.
“We have anti-venom for snake bites, but we didn’t know that there are black widows on the island,” one doctor said.
“Anyone bitten will be treated in a similar way.”
The Poison Information Centre in Nicosia said they knew nothing of the spiders’ existence. They said any new species should be reported and assured that they would ask for advice from Athens on how to deal with black widow spider bites.
Although not wanting to scaremonger, McCowan said people should be aware of what they could be faced with and be alert when working in the environment where the spiders live.
“It is a spider of medical importance because it can kill people. I don’t want people to panic and start killing them indiscriminately. That would be a disaster,” he said.
“But knowledge of its existence and ways to deal with a bite could save lives, and if it is a new species, scientific examination could result in a cure for some disease, or the production of anti-venom to deal with a bite,” he said.
When a similar scare hit New Zealand after a black widow was found in grapes imported from the US, Chief Advisor Safety and Regulation Dr Bob Boyd advised people on how to deal with the spiders.
Boyd said it was highly unlikely that a healthy person would die as a result of a black widow spider bite; however very young, very elderly or debilitated people were at greater risk.
The symptoms of a bite may include sharp pain at the site followed by the development of cramping pain through the body over a period of about one hour. Abdominal pain may be severe. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, headaches, sweating and salivation, and restlessness.
The male spider has an elongated black shiny body, with white and red markings on its side. The female's abdomen is almost spherical, usually with a red hourglass mark on its back or two red marks on its back. It may grow up to the size of about a 20 cent coin. (However, the second spider that McCowan found has no markings while a false widow spider has also been identified bearing a white stripe on the top of its abdomen. In any case, they should not be handled.)
If anyone finds what may be a black widow spider, they should approach with caution. People should avoid contact. Fly spray could be used to stun the spider to allow it to be killed and/or placed into a sealed jar.
Dr Boyd said anyone who suspects they may have been bitten by a black widow spider should place ice on the bite, and seek urgent medical attention.
The injury is treated symptomatically. If the spider can be captured without endangering anybody, it should be caught to confirm its identification and the local public health service advised.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2007
as i was sure I had seem articles :
The story I told you about above,, was when i was living in paralimini ..
===================================
Watch out! Venomous black widows on the prowl in Cyprus
By Alex Mita
(archive article - Sunday, August 15, 2004)
A SINISTER predator is on the prowl. With venom 15 times more powerful than that of a rattlesnake and about the size of a grape its name alone is enough to send shivers down your spine. The black widow spider is a killing machine, and it could be here.
A local spider enthusiast seems to have stumbled on what could be a new species of widow spider, a relative of the infamous black widow, Latrodectus mactans, while clearing rocks at a field in Dhali, Nicosia.
Duncan McCowan told the Sunday Mail that he put the spider in a glass bottle and took it home. A few hours later he was on the phone to the Natural History Museum in London.
“I knew that there were black widows in the Balkan area so I knew it was possible that there might be such a spider in Cyprus,” he said.
I brought it back and strangely enough in a book about spiders that I had bought for my children, there was a drawing of a northern black widow, and what was strange about the spider that I had found was that it had similar red marks on its abdomen to that of the spider in the drawing.”
McCowan spoke to a man called Paul Hillyard, the Curator of Arachnida and Myriapoda of the Natural History Museum in London.
Hillyard asked for a sample, Mcowan sent the spider he had found, and then waited.
Two weeks later he rang the museum again. Hillyard confirmed that the spider McCowan had found belonged to the family of black widows.
“He asked me to describe the area where I had found the spider and then gave me advice on where and how to find some more,” McCowan said.
“So I went back to the field and in an upturned bucket I found that one had made its nest with the male in there as well.”
McCowan managed to catch the spider but lost the male. He sent the new specimen to Hillyard and a few weeks later he got a letter. It was from Hillyard.
It said: “Some time ago you sent me a spider from Cyprus which is undoubtedly a ‘Widow’ spider (Latrodectus sp.) It is in fact related to the Black Widow spider of America and the Red-back spider of Australia. Probably there is little doubt that your spider is venomous.”
But what Hillyard wrote next was even more interesting. He said: “I have been trying to identify the specimen to species level but I have been unable to place it with any of the known species of Latrodectus (six in number) from the Eastern Mediterranean Region.
“I consider it to be an unknown, undescribed species, perhaps one that is unique (endemic) to Cyprus…I suspect that Latrodectus has been overlooked in Cyprus.”
Could the spider that McCowan sent be a new species of the venomous spider?
Although no one knows whether a black widow made its way to the island somehow and evolved into an endemic species, the discovery of the venomous predator could be the key to unexplained deaths of children and men over sixty, people most vulnerable to the venom.
Although only up to five per cent of people who are bitten die from a black widow bite, McCowan is concerned over the lack of knowledge by the local Health Services of the spider’s existence.
Doctors from the Nicosia General hospital this week confirmed that there is no anti-venom on the island to deal with a widow bite.
“We have anti-venom for snake bites, but we didn’t know that there are black widows on the island,” one doctor said.
“Anyone bitten will be treated in a similar way.”
The Poison Information Centre in Nicosia said they knew nothing of the spiders’ existence. They said any new species should be reported and assured that they would ask for advice from Athens on how to deal with black widow spider bites.
Although not wanting to scaremonger, McCowan said people should be aware of what they could be faced with and be alert when working in the environment where the spiders live.
“It is a spider of medical importance because it can kill people. I don’t want people to panic and start killing them indiscriminately. That would be a disaster,” he said.
“But knowledge of its existence and ways to deal with a bite could save lives, and if it is a new species, scientific examination could result in a cure for some disease, or the production of anti-venom to deal with a bite,” he said.
When a similar scare hit New Zealand after a black widow was found in grapes imported from the US, Chief Advisor Safety and Regulation Dr Bob Boyd advised people on how to deal with the spiders.
Boyd said it was highly unlikely that a healthy person would die as a result of a black widow spider bite; however very young, very elderly or debilitated people were at greater risk.
The symptoms of a bite may include sharp pain at the site followed by the development of cramping pain through the body over a period of about one hour. Abdominal pain may be severe. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, headaches, sweating and salivation, and restlessness.
The male spider has an elongated black shiny body, with white and red markings on its side. The female's abdomen is almost spherical, usually with a red hourglass mark on its back or two red marks on its back. It may grow up to the size of about a 20 cent coin. (However, the second spider that McCowan found has no markings while a false widow spider has also been identified bearing a white stripe on the top of its abdomen. In any case, they should not be handled.)
If anyone finds what may be a black widow spider, they should approach with caution. People should avoid contact. Fly spray could be used to stun the spider to allow it to be killed and/or placed into a sealed jar.
Dr Boyd said anyone who suspects they may have been bitten by a black widow spider should place ice on the bite, and seek urgent medical attention.
The injury is treated symptomatically. If the spider can be captured without endangering anybody, it should be caught to confirm its identification and the local public health service advised.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2007
- jambo
- Contributor
- Posts: 367
- Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 2:14 pm
by jambo » Sat Mar 17, 2007 11:10 am
They are more scared of you, than you are of them.. 
Here, I found you another story... just for fun
===============================================
Brown widows ‘have moved into the schoolyard’
By Sofia Kannas
(archive article - Wednesday, November 3, 2004)
AN AYIA Napa woman who claimed to have found a plague of poisonous brown widow spiders in her garden says the eight-legged creatures have now spread to the local playground.
Angelika Chrysostomou says around 15 of the spiders and hundreds of egg sacs can be found on wooden benches in the children’s park opposite the Senator Hotel in the centre of Ayia Napa.
“We don’t go to the playground any more – the spiders are hiding under the slats in the wooden benches, where mothers sit with their children.”
Chrysostomou says her six-year-old daughter uncovered the brown widows in the playground and recognised them as the same creatures infesting their garden.
The Ayia Napa mother says she sent one of the spiders off to experts in America in September after local officials dismissed her suspicions as groundless.
She says Dr Fred Santana, co-ordinator of the Integrated Pest Management programme for Sarasota County at the University of Florida, confirmed that her spiders were “without doubt” brown widows.
“This was after government officials had told me the spiders were of a harmless indigenous variety.”
But an expert at the Cyprus Environmental Studies Centre said relatives of the deadly black widow were reasonably common on the island.
“There are two or three species in Cyprus belonging to the widow family and they do have a toxic venom. But they are not considered very dangerous because they aren’t aggressive.”
Experts say brown widows only tend to bite humans when they are accidentally pressed against the skin. Most commonly, people are bitten when the spider takes refuge in clothing or when people put their hands into crevices and corners.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2007
Here, I found you another story... just for fun
===============================================
Brown widows ‘have moved into the schoolyard’
By Sofia Kannas
(archive article - Wednesday, November 3, 2004)
AN AYIA Napa woman who claimed to have found a plague of poisonous brown widow spiders in her garden says the eight-legged creatures have now spread to the local playground.
Angelika Chrysostomou says around 15 of the spiders and hundreds of egg sacs can be found on wooden benches in the children’s park opposite the Senator Hotel in the centre of Ayia Napa.
“We don’t go to the playground any more – the spiders are hiding under the slats in the wooden benches, where mothers sit with their children.”
Chrysostomou says her six-year-old daughter uncovered the brown widows in the playground and recognised them as the same creatures infesting their garden.
The Ayia Napa mother says she sent one of the spiders off to experts in America in September after local officials dismissed her suspicions as groundless.
She says Dr Fred Santana, co-ordinator of the Integrated Pest Management programme for Sarasota County at the University of Florida, confirmed that her spiders were “without doubt” brown widows.
“This was after government officials had told me the spiders were of a harmless indigenous variety.”
But an expert at the Cyprus Environmental Studies Centre said relatives of the deadly black widow were reasonably common on the island.
“There are two or three species in Cyprus belonging to the widow family and they do have a toxic venom. But they are not considered very dangerous because they aren’t aggressive.”
Experts say brown widows only tend to bite humans when they are accidentally pressed against the skin. Most commonly, people are bitten when the spider takes refuge in clothing or when people put their hands into crevices and corners.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2007
- jambo
- Contributor
- Posts: 367
- Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 2:14 pm
by devil » Sat Mar 17, 2007 11:24 am
I don't think there any man-eating ones.
I believe there is a species in the Akamas that grows to 8-10 cm across and fairly robust. The biggest I've actually seen were the "tiger" spider, up to ~6 cm but fairly slim build and dark-brown and yellow striped legs (hence the nickname). I'm told they can bite but are not dangerous (not put it to the test!!!). Legend has it they will shed their legs and roll their body away to regrow them, if attacked; I believe the truth is that, when they die, the legs fall off first in the decomposition but their exoskeleton preserves the legs longer than their body. I've often seen detached legs.
I believe there are some dangerous species, inflicting bites from the severity of a bee-sting up to extremely painful. I understand hospitals have some spider anti-venin.
Other very common arachnids are ticks which may be disease vectors. Scorpions, with a nasty sting, are also somewhat common, although I've only seen one (careful when picking wood up from a woodpile, as they like to hide in holes). The species here, Mesobuthus cyprius, is endemic to the island (up to 7½ cm long, gold to dark brown in colour), although other species are not excluded but, if present, are rare.
The taxonomy of Cypriot arachnids is very unclear. It is probable that there are many species which are unknown to science.
There are plenty of jumping spiders, fairly small but capable of jumping several cm, and harvester species.
I believe there is a species in the Akamas that grows to 8-10 cm across and fairly robust. The biggest I've actually seen were the "tiger" spider, up to ~6 cm but fairly slim build and dark-brown and yellow striped legs (hence the nickname). I'm told they can bite but are not dangerous (not put it to the test!!!). Legend has it they will shed their legs and roll their body away to regrow them, if attacked; I believe the truth is that, when they die, the legs fall off first in the decomposition but their exoskeleton preserves the legs longer than their body. I've often seen detached legs.
I believe there are some dangerous species, inflicting bites from the severity of a bee-sting up to extremely painful. I understand hospitals have some spider anti-venin.
Other very common arachnids are ticks which may be disease vectors. Scorpions, with a nasty sting, are also somewhat common, although I've only seen one (careful when picking wood up from a woodpile, as they like to hide in holes). The species here, Mesobuthus cyprius, is endemic to the island (up to 7½ cm long, gold to dark brown in colour), although other species are not excluded but, if present, are rare.
The taxonomy of Cypriot arachnids is very unclear. It is probable that there are many species which are unknown to science.
There are plenty of jumping spiders, fairly small but capable of jumping several cm, and harvester species.
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I think they act a little weird for a spider. 
by T_C » Sat Mar 17, 2007 12:26 pm
I could of done without that bit of information! I've seen some huge spiders in Cyprus too. I've also seen huge lizards and worst of them all huge centipedes.
I read in the Turkish newspaper recently how they had some plants imported from India or somewhere like that and how there was Cobra eggs in the soil
, apparently they hatched and now theres Cobras in Cyprus too 
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