Nudists urged to take care as spiders thrive at beach

Nude sunbathers beware: Poisonous katipo spiders are abundant on Whangarei's Uretiti Beach.

Katipo spider specialist James Griffiths visited the nudist beach 28km south of Whangarei last week - fully clothed - and found about 25 katipo in two hours.

Katipo are a "timid" spider, and would only bite if unable to get away from places like piles of driftwood or clothing being handled by humans, he said.

This could be particularly hazardous to nude sunbathers at Uretiti, which is Northland's only recognised nudist beach.

"If you are getting dressed after doing a bit of nudist sunbathing you should be a little bit careful," he said.

Mr Griffiths, from Motueka in the South Island, last visited Uretiti Beach five years ago while on a katipo searching mission.

He found the beach to be one of the country's more abundant katipo homes.

Unlike many other beaches, Uretiti's sand dunes were largely intact and grasses such as pingao and spinifex grew on the dunes which were ideal for katipo to build insect-snaring webs on.

"It's one of the better spots for them," Mr Griffiths said.

He has never been bitten by a katipo himself, but said a victim would feel "quite a lot of pain".

"You may feel quite sick and light-headed and you may get sweating around the bitten area and need to go to hospital."

Found in coastal areas, the katipo spider was "relatively endangered", with it most commonly found in Northland and the South Island areas of Canterbury's Kaitorete Spit and Golden Bay's Farewell Spit.

Possessing a waxy layer on their bodies which reduces the amount of water they lose, they are able to handle the hot, windy, dry and inhospitable conditions of the dunes, where they live off insects.

Mr Griffiths will compare the katipo numbers found at Uretiti last week with five years ago and determine whether there has been a decline or increase in numbers.

Meanwhile, no doubt to the relief of Uretiti's nudists, a National Poisons Centre spokesperson said it had received just 14 calls regarding katipo bites from March 2002 to March 2006, with none from Northland.

* Katipo bites are very uncommon, and while likely to be unpleasant, are not likely to prove lethal.

The very few fatal cases reported are based on rather dubious records from the 1800s.

Typical symptoms include pain at the site of the bite, which may spread to other areas, and becoming more intense over the hours that follow.

Sweating, malaise, fever and shaking and abdominal cramping may occur. An ice-pack may relieve pain and an anti-venom is available at hospitals.

Katipo is a New Zealand native and is closely related to the Australian redback and black widow spiders

Its Maori name translates to night-stinger and the katipo is a threatened species.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (Whangarei)