Troy Shantz
Shawn Breyer’s job comes with its share of hazards but he didn’t think venomous spiders would be one of them.
The Sarnia-based HVAC technician was working on a commercial air conditioning unit last week when he was confronted by a black widow spider.
“I had never seen anything like that, ever,” said Breyer, who managed to capture the arachnid in a glass jar.
The female northern black widow has a pea-sized body and distinctive red markings on her abdomen. The spider’s name is derived from her tendency to eat the smaller and harmless males after mating.
Female black widows are regarded as the most venomous spider in North America.
“If this thing had been sitting in behind the door rather than in front of the door, it might’ve been a different story,” Breyer said
Antonia Guidotti, an entomology technician at the Royal Ontario Museum, confirmed the spider as a northern black widow (Latrodectus variolus).
They do pack a serious punch although less than 1% of bites are fatal, with the most vulnerable being young children and the elderly, she said.
“If you’re a healthy adult it’s going to make you sick but you’ll recover.”
Guidotti added that sometimes black widows inflict a ‘dry-bite’ in which they don’t inject venom. That is largely to conserve it for hunting prey – which humans are not.
She said there has been an upswing in black widow sighting in Ontario over the past few years, statistics that are being informally monitored by The Natural Heritage Information Centre at the Ministry of Natural Resources.
“It looks like the northern widow either have rebounded, or maybe just people know what they are finding now,” she said.
“I wouldn’t call them rare but because of their behavior you don’t come across them that often.”
Northern black widows spin a small, trap-like web and typically stay hidden from view in wood piles, or, in this case, an AC unit.
“I think it’s useful to be aware of them and know what they look like,” Guidotti said.
That’s advice Breyer, who has been in the trade for 15 plus years, will use when he opens his next air conditioner.
“I’m just hoping that next I don’t find a rattlesnake,” said Breyer, who planned to release the spider in a wooded area.
Residents who spot a black widow spider are asked to contact the Natural Heritage Information Centre at 705-755-5401.
Anyone bitten by one is advised not to panic but to seek medical attention immediately.
