Daily Update – 09/05/06 – ‘Are you afraid OF…’

Today I was in my garden. I saw two big spiders! One spider was on a pot. It was very big and dark. One spider was on the wall. It had very long legs. Spiders are not dangerous in the UK. They do not hurt people. But I was a little bit scared! Are you afraid of spiders?

This morning in my garden I found two big spiders. The first one was on a terracotta plant pot. It was large and dark brown — probably a wolf spider. The second spider was on the wall of my house. It had very, very long thin legs. This is called a cellar spider, or “daddy long legs spider.” In the UK, spiders are not dangerous. They can bite, but it is very rare and it does not really hurt. Many people are afraid of spiders, but they are actually very helpful — they eat insects like flies and mosquitoes!

While doing some gardening this morning, I spotted two impressive spiders. The first was a large, dark spider sitting on a terracotta pot — most likely a wolf spider, which is very common in UK gardens. Wolf spiders are hunters: instead of spinning webs, they chase their prey across the ground. They look quite intimidating, but they are completely harmless to humans and rarely bite. The second discovery was on the wall of the house — a cellar spider, sometimes called a daddy long legs spider. With legs that seemed almost absurdly long compared to its tiny body, it is the kind of spider that makes people jump. Interestingly, cellar spiders are often said to be the most venomous spider in the world — but this is a popular myth. Their venom is weak and their fangs are too small to pierce human skin.

A morning in the garden today produced two rather striking encounters. The first was a large, dark wolf spider resting on a terracotta pot — chunky, fast-moving, and quite alarming at close range, though entirely harmless. Wolf spiders are among the most common large spiders in UK gardens: they hunt by stalking their prey rather than using webs, and the females are often seen carrying their egg sacs or young on their backs. The second find was a cellar spider on the exterior wall — the long-limbed, delicate-looking creature also known as a daddy long legs spider. There is a persistent rumour that cellar spiders are the most venomous spiders in the world, restrained only by fangs too small to bite humans. Entomologists have comprehensively debunked this: their venom is genuinely weak and poses no threat whatsoever. Both species are in fact excellent garden allies, controlling populations of flies, mosquitoes, and other insects. Frightening to look at, perhaps — but well worth keeping around.

Two encounters in the garden this morning, both instructive. The first: a wolf spider — genus Lycosidae — settled on a terracotta pot with the particular stillness of something that knows it has been spotted. Wolf spiders are impressive animals: solitary hunters that rely on speed and sharp eyesight rather than webs, they are among the largest spiders routinely encountered in British gardens. The females are notably maternal, carrying their egg sac attached to their spinnerets and then, once hatched, bearing their spiderlings on their backs. Fearsome in appearance, entirely benign in practice. The second: a cellar spider, Pholcus phalangioides, suspended on the wall with that characteristic trembling stillness, legs spanning a width that seems disproportionate to its thread-like body. The internet’s favourite claim — that these are the world’s most venomous spiders, frustrated only by their inability to pierce human skin — has been tested and firmly refuted. Their venom is mild; their fangs, while capable of breaking skin in rare cases, deliver nothing of consequence. Both species are, by any reasonable assessment, assets to a garden. The fear they inspire says considerably more about us than it does about them.