The campervan was imported from Sacramento, California, last October by a
couple (who do not wish to be named) who bought it from the states unaware of
its potentially dangerous passenger.
The deadly find was discovered by a mechanic working underneath the
vehicle, who after power washing the underside noticed a small black spider with
a red hourglass marking on the underside of its abdomen.
We then collected the unwanted stowaway and it now resides in my "nasties"
tank - a locked and alarmed biological hazard enclosure devoted to venomous
species located in Arachnoland, near Insect City.
Black widows are extremely venomous and though they do not always cause
death, because they only inject a small amount of venom, their bite is extremely
painful and symptoms can last for several weeks if one is lucky enough to
survive.
Also a few weeks ago I was asked to collect a "small banded snake" from an
elderly gentleman's garden in Stratford which turned out to be a harmless baby
corn snake Pantherophis guttatus; obviously an escaped pet!
Both of these unusual visitors can now be viewed in complete safety at
Stratford Butterfly Farm.
For more information visit
www.butterflyfarm.co.uk
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