Attention biting - the Nosferatu spider is not dangerous, but you don't necessarily want to get too close to it. However, the eight-legged friend now seems to feel at home in Bavaria.
Munich/Augsburg (dpa/lby) - The Nosferatu spider is relatively large, hairy, can even bite people and has been spreading more and more in Bavaria for not too long. Although this species of spider is one of the few that can bite through human skin, it is still harmless, according to biologist and spider expert Theo Blick.
The spider species Zoropsis spinimana, also known as the Nosferatu spider, was first detected in Bavaria in 2015 in Schweinfurt, a spokesman for the Bavarian State Office for the Environment said. In 2019 there were two more finds and since 2020 it has been discovered by more and more people.
The Nosferatu spider is now considered "moderately common" in Bavaria. This corresponds to level 3 in a six-level system, explained Blick, who, as spokesman for the Arachnological Society, is dedicated to scientific exchange on arachnids. Across Germany, the Nosferatu spider, which belongs to the family of curl-hunting spiders, is already "very common" (level 6). An upward trend can also be observed in Bavaria.
The Zoropsis spinimana has a yellowish-brown colour, a body length of almost two centimeters and reaches a size of up to six centimeters with the legs. That is stately, but not record-breaking, according to the German Nature Conservation Union (NABU). The widespread large angle spider, for example, can reach a leg span of up to ten centimeters.
However, if you get too close to the Nosferatu spider, you run the risk of being bitten. Like most spiders, Zoropsis spinimana is poisonous. However, the bite is only dangerous for the prey, stressed spider expert Blick. The bite can be painful, but is usually more harmless than a wasp or bee sting. In addition, no allergic reactions are known, as also reported by the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL).
Since the Nosferatu spider originally comes from the Mediterranean region, it prefers warm and dry conditions, according to biologist Blick. The falling temperatures are therefore increasingly luring the eight-legged friend into the human environment, i.e. into houses, sheds and garages. Since the Zoropsis spinimana is an ambush hunter, it does not build webs to capture its prey. Instead, they pursue insects and other small animals mostly on the ground.
If you discover such a spider in your own four walls, the Bavarian State Office for the Environment recommends catching the animal with a glass and carrying it outside. This not only protects the spider, bites can also be easily avoided in this way.
