Goliath Birdeater spider scientist labelled ‘murderer’, sent death threats over collecting specimen

WHEN a scientist posted pictures of a puppy-sized spider he found in South America, the story went viral. Now Piotr Neskrecki is being sent death threats. Why?

WHEN a scientist posted pictures about a puppy-sized spider he found in South America, the story went viral. Now Piotr Neskrecki is being sent death threats. Why?

Mr Naskrecki is a Harvard-trained entomologist (insect scientist). Part of his job for the Smithsonian Institution is to collect specimens to return to collections in museums for further study.

When most people see a spider, the instant urge is to squash it. But it seems the “puppy” comparison made with the terrifying The South American Goliath birdeater (Theraphosa blondi) spider at the centre of the controversy has helped spark some vitriolic trolling.

Mr Naskrecki went on US radio yesterday to say he’s no “puppy” killer.

“Yes, I have received quite a bit of negative reactions to the fact that we scientists have to collect specimens occasionally,” he told NPR.

“I would like to emphasise that we never do it lightly and this is probably the most unpleasant part of our job. But unfortunately, there’s really no other way to look inside of an organism.”

He was far more forthright in a new post on his personal blog, The Smaller Majority.

“This, combined with my comment of having seen this species only a handful of times, triggered a tsunami of self-righteous outrage at my murderous act which, according to the most vocal individuals, is bound to drive this species to extinction,” Naskrecki writes.

Puppy killer? ... The scientist who collected a Goliath Bird-eating Spider (Theraphosa blondi) for research at the Smithsonian Institution is receiving death threats. Source: Getty

“In fact, I really fear for the Smithsonian Institution, this nation’s pre-eminent natural history collection. If a single spider collected by a scientist causes such an outrage then, surely, the 126 million specimens in its holdings will warrant burning it to the ground and crucifying all scientists working there.”

He went on to explain that entomologists needed to dissect new samples to understand how their internal organs work and to extract their DNA for more detailed analysis.

“The Smithsonian Institution, where I work … has (millions of) specimens collected over the last 200 or 300 years, and they’re still being studied,” he said, “and we are still answering questions that would have been unconceivable when the specimens were first collected.”

Mr Naskrecki continued his defence of gathering such samples on his blog, arguing species are never lost as a result of scientific collection — but rather through lack of understanding of their needs, biology and habitat.

“This loss of species is happening on an unimaginable scale — by some estimates 16,000 species quietly go extinct every year, some even before scientists have a chance to describe and name them. And this is why if I see something that may be new to science, even if I suspect that it might be rare and threatened, I will collect it and deposit it in a museum.”