Poisonous species spreads Family discovers Nosferatu spider in Alfter
Alfter/Bonn · It has eight legs, is yellow-brownish in colour, grows up to five centimetres in size and is the talk of the town - not least because it is poisonous. Now a Nosferatu spider has also been discovered in Alfter. How dangerous are these animals?
Louise Roos just wanted to tidy up a bit in the courtyard of her house – and made an exciting discovery for the family. "There was a plastic box on the table," the woman from Alfter reported. Her five-year-old son Lennart then saw an animal sitting in the box: a spider, a rather large spider by local standards. For Roos, it was quickly clear that it had to be a Nosferatu spider. "I've read a lot about it, we are interested in such animals," said the Alfter resident in conversation with the General-Anzeiger.
Roos was right. Hans-Joachim Krammer, a spider expert from the Koenig Research Museum in Bonn, identified the animal from Alfter on the basis of photos the GA had sent him. The Nosferatu spider has eight legs, is yellow-brownish in colour, grows up to five centimetres in size and is currently the talk of the town – not least because it is poisonous.
Nosferatu spider is not completely new to the region
Even though more and more sightings of the Nosferatu spider have been reported this summer, the species is not entirely new in Germany - and also known to appear in the Cologne/Bonn region. Krammer still remembers a case from 2008, when a specimen of the spider, technically called "Zoropsis spinimana", was sighted in Brühl. The spider was brought to the Koenig Museum for examination. The animal can still be found there today – but it is completely harmless, preserved in an alcoholic solution.
The Nosferatu spider is not native to the Rhineland. "Originally, it is a Mediterranean species," Krammer told the GA, "which has since spread all over Germany." The first specimens were sighted in southern Germany, he said, and a few years ago the first specimens of the genus were even found in Bremen. The climate has made the spread of the species possible.
Although it is poisonous, there is no reason for concern, according to Krammer. In the whole of Central Europe, there is no spider that could really be dangerous to humans. Experts estimate the bite of the Nosferatu spider to be comparable to a mosquito or bee bite. However, the bite is usually not dangerous, unless you are allergic to it, they say. If you find a nosferatu spider in your house, you can put a container over the animal, cover it and take it outside.
When are spiders able to bite people?
Whether a species of spider can bite humans ultimately has to do with its size, said Krammer. The larger the animal, the higher the probability that it can penetrate human skin at all. Most spider species that live in Germany are so small that they cannot bite humans.
Those who are currently wondering in general why there are already so many spiders in the houses find the answer rooted in the weather. With the warm and dry weather of the past weeks, spiders have found the best conditions to multiply and grow. Since there are also many mosquitoes and flies around this summer, the spiders have one more reason to come into the houses, Krammer explained. The animals feed on fruit flies, mosquitoes and cockroaches.
Climate change brings more and more species to Germany
Louise Roos from Alfter moved the Nosferatu spider from the box into a jar after discovering it. Not only she, but also her children are enthusiastic about the animal. After it stayed in the jar for a day and a night for display purposes, Roos released it into the wild. Some time ago, daughter Mia (10) had already discovered a Chinese mitten crab in the Sieg. This species is also not native to Europe, but has established itself here as an invasive species.
Reports of discoveries of Nosferatu spiders are still curious. For Krammer, however, they have a first background: climate change. The spider's immigration is a consequence of this, says the expert. And it will not be the last species to come north from the south because of the climate.
