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22 Latest Christchurch news at www. .kiwi Our People Thursday March 9 2017 The Star Cor Vink Canterbury Museum’s spider-man Behind the public displays at Canterbury Museum is a hidden lab, with boxes filled with hundreds of preserved spiders in vials. It’s the office of Natural History curator and arachnologist Cor Vink. He spoke to Gabrielle Stuart So have you always liked spiders? I did. When I was a kid, my parents loved tramping, so we often came across spiders. I always liked predators – anything that had to kill something the same size or larger than it to survive I found fascinating. And they’re so different to us, so alien, from the way they feed to their biology. New Zealand is a very interesting place to live if you’re interested in spiders. About 95 per cent of spiders here are found nowhere else in the world. It is estimated we have 2000 different kinds of spiders in New Zealand, and only about 1200 have names. The others haven’t been named STUDY: Canterbury Museum Natural History curator Cor Vink is passionate about discovering and understanding New Zealand’s spiders. PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN or studied. And the ones we know most about are the most uninteresting ones, the most common household spiders. So what does your job involve? It’s about half maintaining collections, and 25 per cent public interaction, giving talks and that kind of thing. The other quarter is research, or supervising students. And you were involved in catching the huntsman spider found recently at Lululemon? Yes, I was. It’s not the only huntsman we’ve had here, though. One was found in Hillmorton in 2006, and others popped up regularly in the same area over a couple of years afterward – although I haven’t heard of any there recently. There were two species often found up in Auckland. And a chap on our Facebook page recently posted a picture of a huntsman and said he found them regularly at his work, but he hasn’t replied to my messages, so I’m not sure where. Huntsman spiders are not dangerous to humans, but they are a predator, so we don’t want them here because they would eat our native insects. What about New Zealand spiders? Do we have big ones here? Yes – the Nelson cave spiders have a leg span of up to 13cm, and bodies about 3cm in length. But they vary a lot. Our smallest would be smaller than a full stop on a page. So what is spider-hunting like when you’re out in the field? Well, they’re usually active at night after the sun goes down, so you need a good head torch. But it depends what you’re looking at and where you want to go. Breaking news, delivered to your pocket. Visit www.star.kiwi anytime, anywhere! Fire rages, homes at risk •news •CTV •sport •districts •schools •lifestyle •opinion •what’s on www.star.kiwi Huge 2 Seater Stunning in silver and black $599 or Rent to Own options available Rent to own 225 Linwood Ave 389 7742 The magazine for gardeners who like To geT Their hands dirTy www.gardener.kiwi 100% Enabling Youth at Stopping Violence Services has places available for youth aged 16 to 24 years on its “Getting It Together” Youth Programme A 100% FREE SERVICE “Getting It Together” is an individualized programme for young men and women that focuses on: • Managing Anger • Behaviour Change • Managing Difficult Emotions • Enhancing Self Esteem • Providing Communication Skills • Problem Solving Stopping Violence Services (SVS) is a Government accredited Agency with over 30 years experience providing Anger Management Programmes. For enquiries or to make an appointment: Ph 0800 478 778 or email: info@enablingyouth.co.nz CASH FOR STAMPS We Buy and Sell “Old Stamps and Collectables” Call us on 0800 EXCHANGE ( 392 426 ) Or, visit our store next to Riccarton Mall. 134a Riccarton Road. Two doors down from the House of Travel. For large collections or, if you can’t travel we can come to you. www.thestampexchange.co.nz
The Star Latest Christchurch news at www. .kiwi Thursday March 9 2017 23 busts the myths about arachnids Trapdoor spiders are an interesting one to catch, because they like to stay inside their burrow behind the trapdoor. So to catch them, one researcher – Vikki Smith – invented a technique they call “beetling”, where they tie a leash around a beetle and walk it up and down outside the trap to lure the spider out. When the spider comes out to catch the beetle they block the door so it can’t get back in I wouldn’t like to be the beetle. No, but the beetle usually survives it. Vikki had one beetle she called Pete, who she kept for a long time, although I believe he recently died. RIP Pete. And when you’re working in the lab, what kind of discoveries do you find most interesting? I think the most exciting thing is just to look down a microscope and realise you’re looking at a unique species that has never been seen before. Have you been able to name any new species? Yes, about 30. There are rules about what you can name them – they can be about where it is found or what it looks like, or the MYTH: Cor Vink said many people believed white tail spider bites could be deadly, but that was a myth. people who found them. Have you given any particularly interesting names? Not myself, although there are some interesting names for spiders in New Zealand. There is a genus of tiny spider called beelzebub, named for the Jewish ‘lord of the flies’. But you can do some damage if you choose the wrong name. There is a kind of cave beetle, which was discovered by a Nazi supporter, and he named it hitleri, after Hitler. It is nothing special, but because of the name, it is now endangered, because a lot of crazy neo-Nazis want it in their collections, so they hunt them down. Obviously spiders aren’t popular with everyone – does that make it hard to get research or conservation funding? Well, they’re not pretty, fluffy birds, that’s for sure. I don’t need much research funding because most of my work is collectionbased. I have done things like molecular research, but not a lot of it, so funding isn’t something that keeps me up at night. Are there any spiders that scare you? Not really, because I know they’re not going to go after you. Some, like the white tails, are quite creepy and they have a painful bite. But I’ve worked with spiders for more than 20 years, and I’ve never been bitten. What do your children think of your work? They’re fine with it. They’re 12 and 10, and they know the names of a lot of species and they’re quite good at finding them, too. They’ve come on several trips with me, helping me collect them. There are a lot of myths people believe about spiders – which do you run into most often? One of the most common is that white tail venom is deadly. It’s not deadly. People will show you dramatic wounds which, they say, came from a white tail bite, but often they didn’t see it happen. It’s likely just a secondary infection, which is more likely to have come from a mosquito than a white tail. The other one is that cellar spiders, which most people call daddy-long-legs, have highly potent venom. The reality is, it’s not potent at all. You would need about 50 bites on a mouse to kill it. And there’s the myth about swallowing spiders in your sleep. It’s true they like dark places, but not somewhere wet like your mouth. So I don’t know where that came from. Lightweight WHEELCHAIRS SELF PROPELLING LIGHT-WEIGHT SELF PROPELLING WHEELCHAIRS • Pop off wheels • Removable leg-rests • 14”, 16” or 18” seat width • Weight with wheels and leg-rests removed is only 10.9kg • Folds for storage or transportation • Maximum user weight 100kg PHONE 354 5616 108 Sawyers Arms Rd, Papanui, Christchurch 10% Off for SUPERGOLD card holders Conditions may apply WIN $ 1000 * Go into the draw to win this great prize by requesting a no obligation measure and quote for a HomePlus Balustrade today. *Promotion closes end of March 2017. Enhance your home and outdoor areas, add value, good looks and safety by choosing a custom made balustrade from HomePlus. towards your balustrade solution AWNINGS & BLINDS, BALUSTRADES, FENCING & GATES, INSECT SCREENS, LOUVRE ROOF, SECURITY SCREENS, SHOWERS, WARDROBES & DOORS 2015 Franchise Of The Year 88 Gasson St, Sydenham 03 379 3740 www.homeplus.co.nz
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