British Invasion of the Alien Kind

Increasingly mild weather in the UK may seem like a good thing to those who hate the cold and rain. But like everything, even mildness has its price.

And the price in this instance may be too high.

Spiders. Spiders galore. Alien spiders from alien shores arriving in shipping crates and boxes are now able to enjoy the warmer climate, whereas before they were killed off by the cold. Brits are reporting seeing new spiders all over the place, from false widows to black widows, and other exotic arachnids in between.

Here's a shot of Judy's favorite (thanks for the article, Judy). It's of a tube web spider (Segestria florentina). This species is making its way northward up the island and is known to be very aggressive. If approached by a human, it will rear up, bare its fangs, then leap and bite. That's what I expect out of every spider I see, so this comes as no surprise to me. But still, enough already.

Tighten up those shipping regulations, UK, if for no other reason then to appease arachnophobes and would-be tourists like myself.