Black Widow Spider Found at Rabbit Lake Mine

Black Widow Spider Found at Rabbit Lake Mine

Tuesday, July 15, 2003 at 13:11

 

 

 

A black widow spider was discovered by workers at a northern Saskatchewan mine site last week.

 

It was apparently found in a crate of grapes by a baker with the catering company at the Rabbit Lake mine last Thursday.

 

Rosemary Bognar made the discovery and says it was the distinctive red “hourglass” marking on the spider’s belly that confirmed it was a black widow.

 

Bognar says finding the spider where she did certainly caught her off guard.

 

The spider is still alive and is being kept at the mine.

 

The black widow is the most venomous spider found in North America, although people rarely die from its bite.

 

Spider expert Bob Randell says black widows are farely common in southern Saskatchewan, but are not at all indigenous to northern Saskatchewan. He says the Rabbit Lake black widow almost certainly came from California.