Grafarvogur resident Brynhildur Helgadóttir discovered a sister spider of the black widow in a bunch of grapes on September 12, reports RÚV. The spider is likely a venomous Northern Black Widow (Latrodectus variolus). The Icelandic Institute of Natural History now has the spider for research.
At first, Brynhildur thought it was a black widow because the spider had a red spot on its back, just like the black widow’s distinctive marking.
“It had settled in nicely, clearly had eggs, and there was a web spun between the grapes, forming a cosy nest. So, I was pretty shocked when I saw it… At first, I thought it was a black widow, so I yelled to my husband, ‘There’s a black widow in the grapes!’ Needless to say, I was quite startled,” says Brynhildur. “We have two small children at home, and it really hit me that we had a venomous spider in the house. We laughed about it but were also stressed. I think it was a mix of emotions.”
Brynhildur contacted the City of Reykjavík, and workers arrived at the scene quickly, collecting the spider and taking it to the Reykjavík Family Park and Zoo. According to a post on the zoo’s Facebook page, the spider is a subspecies of the black widow, likely the Northern widow. It contains a potent neurotoxin that it injects when biting, though its bites are rarely fatal. The Icelandic Institute of Natural History will conduct further analysis.
Brynhildur hopes the spider will be named after her. Earlier this year, a newly-discovered spider species was named Vigdisia praesidens after Iceland’s former president Vigdís Finnbogadóttir.
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