Segestria florentina

Picture ID 53415

Picture of Segestria florentina - Dorsal

Comments & ID Thoughts

Anyone have any idea what spider this is? Found amongst my folded clean washing in my house. I was bitten by a spider last week and ended up at the doctors having to have antibiotics. Not sure was it thus spider?

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ItsyBitsy

Hi, this is a Tube-web Spider, Segestria florentina.

TangledWeb

Yes, it could have been this spider. They are noted for having a relatively strong painful bite. When a spider’s fangs break skin the bacteria on the fangs is innoculated into the flesh. The species of bacteria and your immune system plus any reaction to the venom determine the odds of a bacterial infection that needs medical treatment. Your infection could have come from another source, like an insect, but this seems to be your likely source. This indicates that you may have similar problems in the future from puncture wounds and/or allergic reactions to insects or spiders. I’m at… Read more »

LGD

Unless someone actually saw the spider bite them they should never ever assume a spider was responsible. Just because a spider was found in the home/same room doesn’t mean it was the creature responsible for the supposed “bite”… correlation does not imply causation… these kind of assumptions are exactly why so many people needlessly fear spiders and hold the erronous beliefs that they are responsisble for necrosis etc.
We have harmful bacteria already on our skin, it doesnt necessarily come from the mouthparts of the spider/insect that bites.

TangledWeb

One thing, we don’t all have harmful bacteria to OURSELVES on our skin. We rarely do. Our native bacteria fights it. One becomes innoculated from sources outside ourselves and infection occurs through a break in the skin or mucous membrane contact. I’m not saying a spider was definitely the vector of a pathogen, just that it is theoretically possible that a spider species known for a powerful bite could have caused bacterial inoculation.

LGD

We do, we all have bacteria such as staphylococcus and staphylococcus living harmlessly on our skin. You don’t have to be bitten by something to get an infection, any cut, graze or wound can become infected. When people blame or assume a spider found nearby (or a week later) I find it quite ridiculous, and it only fuels the nonsense ongoing view held by the public that spiders go around biting people in the night causing infections.

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