Invasive Brown Widow Spider Colonizes Tahiti

First Posted: Aug 26, 2015 06:52 AM EDT

Invasive species can spread across the globe, wreaking havoc where they settle. Now, researchers have found that the brown widow spider has made its home in Tahiti.

The brown widow spider is a known invasive species. It's been found in South America, Central America, North America, the Caribbean islands, and a host of Pacific islands. It was found in French Polynesia in 2006, when it was discovered on the island of Moorea. Researchers believe that the spider hops from island to island by hitchhiking in shipping containers and underneath vehicles on inter-island ferry traffic.

The brown widow is actually a relative of the infamous black widow. However, the bite of the brown widow is much less toxic. Symptoms are usually limited to pain upon being bitten and then redness afterward.

"Brown widows rarely bite people," said Rick Vetter, co-author of the new study, in a news release. "But, because there were no medically important spiders in Tahiti before the brown widow showed up, and because the new colonizer is there and has 'widow' as part of its name, people are going to overreact. What they need to be aware of is that the brown widow is not that big of a deal. It is important to know that the spider is now established in French Polynesia and the Cook Islands, but is not cause for alarm."

The spider is also not as aggressive as the black widow. Instead, the spider's first reaction is to retreat into its web chamber or clamp its legs to its side and play dead.

The findings show that the invasive species has indeed colonized French Polynesia. However, this isn't too much cause for concern since the spiders are not overly threatening to people.

The findings are published in the Journal of Medical Entomology.

Wasp Forces Zombie Spider Slave to Construct Web for Parasitic Pupae

For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone

TagsInsects, Spiders, Spider, Brown Widow Spider, Black widow spider, Arachnids, Invasive, Invasive Species