Suspected black widow spiders, likely to be the lookalike brown widow, were found yesterday nestled in benches outside the new emergency room doors at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

The final word on the spiders’ identity rests with Government entomologists but black widows have been able to find their way into Bermuda in a variety of hiding places before, especially construction material.

Local resident James Coulter said he wasn’t taking any chances, however.

“The first time my wife and I spotted one was about two weeks ago — my wife is from New Hampshire, she’s terrified of spiders and can spot one at a hundred paces,” Mr Coulter said.

“We went to the ER and she saw this spider in a little cubby hole down inside the new benches out there. We shone a flashlight directly on it and saw the hourglass on the bottom. We told a security guard about it.”

The guard’s response was to crush the spider, he added. Experts prefer to be informed and given a specimen of the animal to identify.

Mr Coulter said his wife had been “certain” that what she’d seen had been a black widow, one of the more venomous spiders in North America and capable of inflicting a painful bite.

After visiting KEMH yesterday for a service call, Mr Coulter reported spotting “numerous” specimens of the same spiders nestled in the slats of the benches, including spiders bearing egg sacs.

Brown widows, found in tropical countries around the world, are technically just as toxic as their better-known cousins, but have a far weaker bite.

Their colour is usually lighter, and the classic hourglass markings on the underside — reddish in the black widow — tend to be more orange or yellow.

The Royal Gazette called on the new acute care wing yesterday, collecting one of the spiders to give to government entomologist Claire Jessey.

It was not the only sighting of widow spiders reported yesterday, with another call said to have come to Government from the Sinky Bay area of Southampton. As of last night, no definitive call had been made on the spiders.

Although it is one of the world’s most infamous spiders, the black widow’s bite is very seldom fatal to humans.

The female spider delivers the most harmful bite, causing painful cramps and muscle spasms

Last night, a Department of Environmental Protection spokesman said the Department was aware of the presence of tropical brown widow spiders in the vicinity of the new KEMH Acute Care Wing.

“The construction company involved first brought a spider in for identification several months ago whilst the facility was actively under construction,” the spokesman said, adding that the specimen was confirmed to be a tropical brown widow spider.

“The Department recommended at that time that they consult a professional pest control company to reduce the numbers of spiders.

“Tropical brown widow spiders are present throughout the Island and were established some time prior to 1980s, according to our records. The spider has significant variation in colouration and can be light brown with dark bands on the legs to a very dark brown, which often accounts for the confusion with the black widow.

“However, the egg sacs can confirm the difference between the two spiders as they look quite different.”

The spokesman pointed out that, to date, black widow spiders are not known to be established on the Island, while all recent specimens brought in from the KEMH site have been tropical brown widows.

“All specimens collected from Bermuda and brought for identification have been brown widow spiders,” the spokesman said.

“Reports vary regarding the toxicity of the venom of the tropical brown widow but this spider is generally considered less likely to bite, less aggressive and do[es] not defend its web as vigorously as black widows. However, it is important for the public to remember that all spiders bite and, therefore, none should be handled or provoked.”