How to spot venomous 'Europe's largest spider' as Brits issued warning after it arrived in UK

'Europe's largest spider' has arrived in the UK, though fortunately it's just the one scuttling about in Surrey and not a many-legged swarm of arachnids come to terrify us all.

This web-spinner hitched a ride to the UK from Spain in a shipment of olives sent from Cordoba, so this venomous spider has probably already had more holidays than you this year.

The arachnid in question is a Macrothele calpeiana, or Spanish funnel-web spider, and gave folks quite a fright when they saw it crawling around in unfamiliar surroundings.

The species got named as the largest spider in Europe back in 1989 and while it is venomous the creepy-crawly is not deadly to humans.

That's not to say it's harmless as experts have warned that they can deliver a rather painful bite which you would notice, but it's probably not going to kill you.

Fortunately, only one of these spiders has actually arrived in the UK... that we know of (Pen News)

Since the olives must flow, there is the possibility that more eight-legged hitchhikers could make their way over to the UK from Spain and it might be good to know how to spot them.

First things first, they're a honking massive spider so the requisite eight legs and arachnid appearance are par for the course with the Spanish funnel-web.

Speaking of webs, another way to spot this kind of spider is by that which it weaves. The Spanish funnel-web spins a silky white sheet-like web which will often lead into some kind of tube or tunnel where the spider lives.

These are burrowing spiders so they like to find a nice hole to shelter in.

For those who actually see the creature it's a big, black hairy spider and you might actually mistake it for having 10 legs because the spinnerets at the back can measure about 1.5cm in length so they could look like shorter, stubby legs.

The one which arrived in the UK has found a new home, but what if there's more than one? (Pen News)

However, if you're trying to see one during the day then it might be a tricky order as they mostly come out at night, mostly.

They don't like being disturbed and will try to stay away from humans, but if threatened they can actually make a hissing noise which people can hear.

While they're most commonly found around Spain, this web-spinner has also been spotted in Italy and North Africa and it seems their preferred method of globetrotting is creeping on board shipments of olives.

As for the one that hitched a ride to the UK with some olives, she's been taken in by a spider enthusiast in Hartlepool, has been dubbed 'Bessie' and has been enjoying munching on a steady supply of crickets.

It's a living.

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