Spider id please

[carlp]

Hi

Is anyone able to identify this spider for me?



Sorry the image isn't that great - got it with my camera phone

Thanks

[aeshna5]

Looks like a Steatoda sp.

[carlp]

Many thanks for your help.

It bit me 3 times on my leg back in July. One of the bites didn't amount to much, I had another near my ankle that ballooned, but after a couple of days dissapeared and then the third just below my knee didn't do anything for a few days then went crazy! Itched like mad for a month or so and wouldn't heal - left a nice scar.....

Doctor just laughed at me and told me it would go away

[Meta menardi]

It would be very useful to have details of size, location in the country, habitat and the circumstances that lead to it biting you three times. Any description you can give of the bite site and the speed of onset of the symptoms will help as well. Has the bite healed, or left any mark? The impression I get form your photo is that the spider is not very large, so any information may help to get you somewhere to finding out what happened.

We cross posted, I see you have given some more information.

[carlp]

The size of the spider was very small. It was only by pure luck that I found it and if I hadn't I would've no doubt been biten again! Basically that particular night was quite a bad one for me I went to play football with some mates and put on my trainers that I hadn't worn for a while as I've been injured. They had been left on the shoe rack in our conservatory where there have been a few webs, but never really seen anything that created them. Anyway when I got to the pitch I took off my trainers and put on some new football socks that were still in there packet. I'm assuming at this point that the spider might have been in my trainer and either travelled up my leg en route or came out when I put my sock and I put the sock over it. That night I ended up at A&E as I'd broken my scaphoid - thumb went all the way back Thats when I noticed the swelling at the bottom of my leg and just assumed that it was from playing football that I took a knock. Then overnight I noticed I had a red bump on the back of my calf and two dots next to my knee. The swelling subsided after a few days, the red bump itched but didn't amount to anything, but the one next to my knee went crazy and wouldn't heal. I've now got a purplish scar amount 1-2cm across.

Location wise I'm in Kent.

[naturegirl]

Without seeing this assailant I would guess that it could be the 'Zebra or Jumping spider' to have caused such an injury. They are known to cause a 'necrotising' injury when they bite. This means that the injury of the bite may subside nand become 'necrotic' I.E. rotting the tissue.

Naturegirl

[MattPrince]

Hold on a moment naturegirl, you're making the poor little jumper out to be a terrifying monster... I've handled quite a few and have yet to be bitten (mostly I just look at them, looking at me through a x10 lens, none has gone for my jugular yet...)

How many confirmed zebra spider bites have their been?

Regards,
Matt

[No.9 Spider]

I can vouch for a bite received from a male Salticus scenicus, they certainly have the equipment for it when mature! This one was trapped in bed sheets when it bit the victim.

[MattPrince]

Interesting No 9.

I'll assume this was first hand, you made the identification, and that a second spider or critter was unlikely (though not impossible as it was presumably found in the bed sheets post trauma, not in the act of envenoming flesh).

Still - I'm going to continue to admire them respectfully as before!

Regards,

Matt

[carlp]

I'm not an expert, but I've seen many zebra/jumping spiders, and this didn't look like one......for one thing I played with it for at least 10-15 minutes trying to get it to sit still for a pic and it didn't jump once........plus I would say that it was too small. The body on it was only 2mm max. The markings on the body weren't 'zebra like' either. It looked more brown with a couple of tiny white spots on its back - see picture in first post.

Must admit, I'm a complete arachnophobe and I'm now slightly scared to put my foot in an old shoe. It was so tiny, that if I had of 'banged' my shoe for it to come out I don't even think I wouldn't recognised it being there.