Black Widow Spiders Found In Aircraft

Shiver! There are a fair few shops in Glastonbury which portray an image of witchraft and spookiness, with merchandise aimed at those with an interest in wands, cauldrons and broomsticks. You'd be forgiven for also conjuring images of black cats, bats, frogs and spiders. But no doubt not even the most dedicated shop keeper would welcome a pair of black widow spiders into their premises, the like of which were found down the road at Yeovilton air base recently.

The discovery was made by engineers who were working on an airraft which had recently returned from California.

Petty Officer (PO) Alex "Scotty" Scott said: "We used an element of skill and considerable daring to capture our stowaway rather than squashing it."

"As I moved in to examine the spider, it became startled and agitated and began to scurry around - revealing the bright red hour glass patch on its belly."

The venom of the black widow spider, while rarely causes death can cause symptoms of cramps and fever in humans. The bite of the female can be particularly harmful to humans.

A male black widow spider and egg pouch were also found in the hangar following fumigation. However it is only the female of the species which is deadly - after mating it kills and eats it's male prey, hence the name the black widow.