Search this site
Blogroll
Email hoax number 1
I thought that you would all benefit from these pictures, now the last couple pictures are nasty and the very last picture is the spider itself, but basically
these pictures are showing the effects of a White tail spider bite.The following illustrates the progression of a White tail spider bite. The affected skin actually dies on his body. Some of the pictures towards the end are pretty nasty, but take a look at the last one — it is a picture of the spider itself.
White tail spider bite is the most dangerous spider that we have here in Australia.
A person can die from it’s bite. We all should know what the spider looks like. Send this around to people you love, because it is almost summertime. People will be digging a
round, doing yard work, spring cleaning, and sometimes in their attics. Please be careful.

Day 5 Some of the pictures towards the end are pretty nasty, but take a look at the last one -- it is a picture of the spider itself.
Spider bites are dangerous and can have permanent and highly negative consequences. They like the darkness and tend to live in storage sheds or attics or other areas that might not be frequented by people or light. If you have a need to be in your attic, go up there and turn on a light and leave it on for about 30 minutes before you go in to do your work.
———————————————————–
The above email I received some time back and is a 100% complete hoax, and not a very good one at that. The actual spider shown in the email is nothing like the White tailed spider here in Australia. The spider shown in fact is a Brown recluse spider (bottom)
I cannot understand why an individual would want to spread such misinformation which is obviously some sort of terror campaign designed purely to cause fear and to give the spider the notoriety it does not deserve.There is also another email exactly the same as the above which states the claim that the Brown recluse is here in Australia and people have been
bitten causing loxoscelism (necrosis) which is once again complete 100% garbage. It is fact however, that Australia does have the Brown recluse spider here and it has been here for well over 20 years, its distribution takes in a small area of southern Australia in the state of South Australia, there have been no recorded bites from this introduced species since its introduction.
If you happen to receive such an email it’s best just to “bin it” as it is completely false and of no benefit to anyone whatsoever. The two above mentioned species have had enough false “media hype” over the years, sensationalism media reporting of supposed cases of necrotising arachnidism especially in regard to the whitetail spider bite causing this condition. Recent scientific evidence suggests in fact that ulceration is not a common final outcome of white
tailed spider bite, the majority of people bitten by these spiders suffer only minor local reactions. The bite victims underlying vascular disease or immune response to the bite may be a contributing factor if necrosis is an outcome from one of the above mentioned.