He (Fred - since all spiders that aren't black widows are called Fred) had no shine or red splotch. That means he survived our encounter. With the shine or the splotch, the name would have been meaningless since he wouldn't have survived.
In any case, it was a good thing for both of us that he was dangling at the crack of the door to the outside, about a foot below the door knob so our close encounter didn't get any closer than it did.
I offered him escape, which he declined. I insisted, and he ended up outside, on the bricks in front of the office door, intact but a bit disgruntled, I'm sure. It isn't particularly warm outside this morning, compared to inside, but I'm not worried about that.
Now, while I don't particularly mind spiders, I'm not fond of touching them. They are, while fascinating, still on the creepy side of the scale. And, while I know that they serve a good purpose, eating other bugs and each other, I am not interested in picking one up and hugging it or petting it.
In this case, I herded Fred off, out of harm's way using one of the fallen leaves that are scattered around on the paving. He was reluctant and a bit difficult, but I got him headed in the right direction, toward the English boxwood in the planter outside my window.
His shadow, because of his size and the angle of the sun, was impressive. It looked like something from some 1950's Hollywood B-movie: "The Spider that Chomped Calistoga!" or something like that.
I just wish I'd had my camera with me today. After I got him away from where someone might step on him, I came inside and did a search for local spiders. I didn't find a picture of my Fred - just a bunch of others, so I'm curious.
Is he a new variety of Fred? Something not seen in Napa County before? Or is he a cousin of one of the Mediterranean Freds that hitched a ride and have overstayed their visa? We do have an invasive species of spider that's arrived here, in Northern California from the Med. I found that in my internet search, along with a name of someone to contact at the Academy of Sciences to contact if one is found.
If I had my camera, I could have taken Fred's portrait and sent it off for identification. Who knows? Perhaps it's a new genus, something to which my name could be attached. Just imagine: Fredus philippae or Fredus stirlingus or something like that. That would be pretty cool.
Sadly, perhaps, about thirty minutes after I set Fred free, the landscaper came by with his leaf blower and cleared the dead leaves from around the building. All I can do now is hope that Fred is safely tucked away, under the siding of the building or in one of the plants. Nothing I can do about it except hope that he survives.
If he does, and if I come in on Tuesday after our long holiday weekend and he's back here, hanging around and making himself at home, I will get his picture and send it off.
Oh, and in case you're wondering why it's only black widows that I kill, and not the infamous brown recluse, it's because, according to the experts (many of them), there are no brown recluse spiders in California. There may be brown spiders, but being brown doesn't mean they're of the recluse family.
To back up this unpopular position, have a look at this from the University of California at Riverside, written in 2014 (just last year!):
This website presents evidence for the lack of brown recluse spiders as part of the Californian spider fauna. Unfortunately, this contradicts what most Californians believe; beliefs that are born out of media-driven hyperbole and erroneous, anxiety-filled public hearsay which is further compounded by medical misdiagnoses. Although people are free to disagree, this opinion has come about after more than twp (sic) decades of constant research resulting in many publications in the scientific and medical literature. In addition to personal experience and thousands of spiders submitted to UC Rverside, the sources for this opinion encompasses conversations with, interactions with, and the cumulative knowledge of the following, who have experience or expertise in the state of California and, in some cases, are national or international experts:
- Arachnologists throughout the state including those at the Los Angeles County Museum and San Francisco's California Academy of Sciences (one of whom is probably one of the top 5 arachnologists in the world)
- The Calif. Dept of Food and Agriculture, which is responsible for identifying all exotic pests found in California
- County Agricultural Commissioner Office entomologists up and down the state
- Hundreds of pest control operators in both Northern and Southern California
- County vector and health personnel
- A U.S. recluse expert, who wrote the definitive taxonomic revision where he described the distribution of all North American recluse species, and who also happened to be a vector control person in Northern California, now retired.
- The late Dr. Findlay Russell, the world's foremost authority on animal venoms. Dr. Russell was an internationally renowned toxicologist, was a medical physician at USC Medical Center and consulted on hundreds of "spider bite" diagnoses in California. In fact, Dr. Russell's research was the impetus for many of the ideas expressed here.
Cumulatively, this body of knowledge represents hundreds
of years of experience with spiders and/or their medical aspects in
California and the identification of hundreds of thousands of spiders.
So if you think the material here is in error, consider the strength of
your own sources.
http://spiders.ucr.edu/myth.html
I love debunking Urban Legends and Myths, and now I'll turn my attention from Fred and get to work on other stuff.
I hope you have a lovely day!
Best~
Philippa
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