The Reykjavik Animal Service, that works closely with Reykjavik Zoo, receives many different animals and sometimes animals from different parts of the world. Recently, animal service staff picked up a foreign spider that traveled all the way to a family home in Iceland from California in a bag of grapes. The spider was identified as a Northern Black widow (Latrodectus variolous), a species related to the famous Southern Black widow. The species is venomous and a bite can cause serious pain and illness but is usually not deadly to adult humans. Luckily, these spiders are timid and not likely to bite people. In the photo below you can see the spider. The Icelandic Institute of Natural History has taken the spider for further analysis and safe keeping.
