A sneak attack on a local tween was thwarted Sunday with quick reflexes!
Perseverance BrAmPa climbed out of her bed Sunday morning then woke her father by imitating a car alarm before sitting down to enjoy her breakfast with a book.
"Not five seconds later I heard a squeal and then the whole room was filled with flying arms and legs and debris" her mother reported after the incident that left the household of three mildly disturbed, but also amused.
"I was just about to bite into my Ricies when I saw it moving on my bathrobe. That's when I freaked out." Perseverance remembers yelling and jumping up to swat at the offending insect with Calvin and Hobbes, the Sunday Special. The insect retreated under the dinner table where it was contained with a clear plastic bowl by her mother, much to its fury.
"This spider was unlike our typical spider visitor, and I was able to identify it as the dreaded White Tail Spider, one of two harmful spiders in New Zealand, this one being brought here from Australia, naturally," reported Perseverance's father, who attempted to transfer the spider to a more suitable container but accidentally squashed in it the process, thus ruining any desire to save it and show it to friends.
The White Tailed Spider feeds on other spiders and usually only bites humans if provoked, however the bite is immediately painful. Landcare Research notes, "It is usually possible to catch the perpetrator easily, since the spider has poor eyesight, and its identity can then be confirmed. It should be noted that cases of confirmed White-tail spider bites have rarely resulted in anything more severe than a red mark and localised, short-lived pain."
In other news, Syndey, Australia, land of the nasty, biting animals, has been inundated with funnel-web spiders as of late. This from the NZ Herald, "Unlike most spiders, which scuttle away when disturbed, funnel-webs, which can grow to up to two inches long, may rear up and bare their fangs....Found mainly in eastern Australia, they are said to be able to leap 18 inches, and their fangs can penetrate soft shoes and fingernails."
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