LukasPich/Shutterstock
An Italian study revealed how a murder mystery novel and a medical rarity were used to whip up media hysteria about spiders.
Shutterstock
Funnel webs are considered one of Australia’s most fearsome spiders, but their ability to kill humans is by accident rather than design.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s clampdown on dissent in Matabeleland claimed up to 20 000 lives.
EPA/Aaron Ufumeli/ Pool
The effects of President Mugabe’s post-independence security clampdown that led to the murder of between 10 000 and 20 000 Zimbabweans, known as the Matabeleland massacre, continue to be felt.
The largely harmless white-tailed spider has copped a lot of flak.
Robert Raven
Whether it’s a bite from a spider or another insect, the management is the same - most will get better without any medical treatment.
Spiders such as this funnel-web (Hadronyche infensa) will only bite if threatened.
There are more than 45,000 species of spider, but only a handful are potentially dangerous to humans.