Foreign Arachnid Found Inhabiting Zoology Museum

An itinerant South American spider is the newest menace to basement prowlers at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology, according to a prominent arachnologist.

Herert W. Levi, Associate Curator of Arachnology at the Museum, has identified one of a number of spiders found alive in the basement as Loxosceles laeta, previously unknown in this country. It is believed that the species has been living undetected in Cambridge for several years.

The spider is venomous, with a bite that opens an ulcerous wound in the victim's skin. The injury is localized but usually slow to heal. As yet, no humans have been reported bitten by the species which avoids contact and attacks only when touched or trapped.

The arachnid is related to the "brown spider" known as a public nuisance in Kansas and Oklahoma. How Loxosceles Laeta arrived here and how far it has spread is unknown, since it resembles certain domestic spiders.

The U. S. Public Health Service and the Massachusetts Department of Health are keeping an eye out for the newcomer as a potential health hazard. Meanwhile staff members at the Museum will study its life history and habits in the hope of finding ways to exterminate the beast.