The Brazilian poisonous traveler spider is one of the most dangerous arthropods. It even occupies a certain place in the Guinness Book of Records as the most dangerous species of the squad.
After a bite, the victim dies within 20-30 minutes without assistance, and small animals die even faster. The wanderer lives in South and Central America.
But because of its love for bananas, it can be transported to another continent in a shipping container along with fruit. Despite its venomous nature, the Brazilian spider attacks humans only in self-defense. But if he bites once, he will immediately try to attack again.
Description
The wandering monster got its name due to its constant movement in search of food. He does not stay anywhere for a long time, with the exception of females during the period of expectation of offspring. They guard the eggs throughout their maturation period and only after hatching do they leave the clutch.
The Brazilian spider has a small chest and head. At the same time, the belly is very thick and significantly larger in size. The total body length is about 10-11 cm.
There are 4 pairs of eyes on the head, which provides a good outlook and the ability to visualize images from different angles in all directions. The quality of the picture is really not that good; the spider is able to distinguish the silhouette, shadow, movement, but not the color scheme of the object.
A dark brown monster with light specks on its body can change its color depending on its living conditions. Brown, black and red varieties of the family are less common. When hunting for prey, the animal sways from side to side, and its jaws become purple in color.
Spiders wandering in the tropics have strong, massive limbs, 8 in number . They are covered with hairs along their entire length. The wandering spider uses its legs not only as a means of transportation, they are the organs of smell and touch for a formidable animal.
This arthropod has many names. The most common are the runner, soldier, banana, wandering spider. The species belongs to the runner family Ctenidae.
Sydney leucopaweb (funnel web) spider
The second most dangerous and most unpleasant bully in the spider world is the Sydney funnel-web spider. It is considered a bully because when attacking a person, this insect tries to make as many bites as possible and inject more poison, although its effect is much weaker than other toxins.
In addition to this persistent nature, the Sydney funnel-web spider has very large fangs: long and sharp, like needles. It is believed that with such fangs he can easily bite through leather shoes and human nails. Moreover, males are 6 times more poisonous than females.
Signs of a bite that develop in a person (appear within a few seconds):
- muscle spasms;
- strong rapid heartbeat;
- confusion or loss of consciousness;
- brain tumor.
Without medical attention, death can occur within 15 minutes, but an effective antidote was created in 1981, so there have been no deaths since then.
Why is a spider bite dangerous?
The Brazilian wild wandering spider is known as one of the most poisonous arthropods. For this reason, he is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
If help is not provided in a timely manner, the consequences of a Brazilian wandering spider bite can be disastrous. At the same time, its aggression manifests itself only for the purpose of self-defense, and if you do not anger the animal, you can avoid danger.
When the poison enters the victim's body, she experiences piercing pain at the site of the attack. The neurotoxins contained in the composition instantly penetrate the blood.
This causes a severe allergic reaction, which manifests itself:
- Increased pressure.
- Difficulty breathing.
- Dizziness, headache.
- Fever.
- Weakness.
- Nausea.
- Swelling.
If medical assistance is provided immediately, severe consequences can be avoided. Otherwise, numbness of the limbs, spasms, paralysis of the respiratory muscles followed by their atrophy begins. Death when bitten by a stray spider mainly occurs from suffocation or cardiac arrest.
Important. If the spider bites once, it will try to strike again. The arachnid does not run away, but aggressively defends itself to the last. For a person to die, it is enough to receive only one dose of poison.
The average time from the moment of the bite to death ranges from 20-45 minutes. It all depends on the state of health and strength of the body. An increased allergic reaction is observed in children, the elderly, persons with individual intolerance, and patients with reduced immunity. In this case, death may occur earlier.
After the development of the antidote Phoneutria, the number of deaths has decreased significantly and is only 3% of all Brazilian traveler's spider bites.
Spider – soldier and man
Like most animals, even the most dangerous and aggressive ones, the Brazilian soldier spider will not be the first to rush into battle; it attacks and bites only in case of danger to life.
It is better to view the soldier spider behind glass.
As noted earlier, due to its inconspicuous appearance and great love of “playing hide and seek” in people’s houses and belongings, encounters with this spider are very frequent and sometimes end, alas, very sadly. According to various sources, a bite from a soldier spider is fatal in 85% of cases. Its venom is incredibly toxic, causing paralysis of all muscles, resulting in a person dying from suffocation. There is an antidote that is no less toxic than the poison itself.
Soldier spider in the foliage.
Despite all the negative aspects, scientists have found that the venom of the Brazilian soldier spider can have a positive effect on the sex life of men. The toxin contained in the poison can cure impotence, and scientists are currently studying how to combine the toxin with existing drugs in order to effectively and safely treat male ailment.
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Where does it live?
The Brazilian wandering spider is also called the soldier. This is how he was nicknamed for his ability to raise his front legs up. The traveler lives in the tropics and subtropics of South and Central America. You can see it on the territory of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia only in terrariums at specialized exhibitions.
Less often, it moves from the forest to the dwelling , mainly forced to do this by the need to search for protection or food. In this case, wandering spiders can crawl into shoes, clothes or boxes.
Since Brazilian travelers are nocturnal inhabitants, during the day their shelter is a cool snag, a stone, a closet, or a basement. Arthropods spend most of their lives on the ground, but can hide in the grass or on tree trunks.
Mouse spider
The red-headed mouse spider is Australia's most dangerous spider, with 12 species. Its name comes from its soft, furry abdomen, and its bite is very dangerous to humans, although it is not very aggressive and often bites without using venom.
Nature has endowed it with bright colors: males have a red head and a gray-blue belly, females are black. Size - from 1 to 3.5 cm.
The venom has a neuroparalytic effect similar to that of the Sydney spider, but they live far from human settlements. A serum has long been made for their venom, which is effective against many funnel-web spider species.
Nutrition
The wandering spider loves small insects, lizards, weakened and sick birds. The diet of arthropods is quite diverse and can include frogs, caterpillars, snails, spiders of other species, and even their own relatives. But most of all he likes meat. The poison is able to digest the contents into a broth that the animal feasts on.
Because of its affinity for bananas, the wandering spider is often called the banana spider. It can enter boxes of fruit and thus travel to another country or continent.
The Brazilian spider is a good runner. He jumps and runs great. In search of food, it constantly moves from one place to another. That is why he does not build holes. Seeing the victim from a hiding spot, the wanderer spider raises its front legs and extends the middle pair forward and to the side. When attacked, it immediately sinks its teeth and injects poison. This helps to neutralize the victim in a matter of seconds.
In the wild, the spider places its web like a trapping net to catch prey. They can reach 2 meters in diameter. The strength of the structure is enough to catch lizards, small birds, small rodents, and snakes. This web is sometimes used by fishermen. Folded in several layers, it is suitable for catching small fish.
In the house, Brazilian wandering spiders do not spin webs, so they will not be detected by this sign.
Sand Spider
The six-eyed sand spider has 8 legs and 6 eyes and lives in the deserts of South Africa and western South America. Its scientific Latin name Sicarius translates to "killer". By nature, he is a hunter who waits for a long time for his prey (other spiders and scorpions), buried in the sand. When prey runs past, it attacks - it bites it, and within a few hours the insect or animal dies. Its size is about 5 cm, its abdomen is light brown or red-brown.
The venom of the six-eyed spider is a strong cytotoxin (similar to the effects of sulfuric acid), producing a hemolytic and necrotic effect, which means the rupture of blood vessels and tissue decomposition. There are only 2 cases of such spiders biting people, but both were fatal.
Reproduction
Brazilian wandering venomous spiders are heterosexual. The female has a bright color, her size significantly exceeds that of the male. Males, in turn, are distinguished by the presence of additional limbs; they need them during the mating period.
The traveler spider is a good dancer, which attracts the female . Flirting is combined with the presentation of food. When the frozen female eats food, the spider mates. At the end of sexual intercourse, the partner usually eats the inseminator. In rare cases, the male remains in the family and lives in the same nest.
2 weeks after mating, the female lays eggs. Her mission ends when new offspring emerge from the cocoon. The young hatch from the eggs 3 weeks after laying. Then they crawl away in search of food and then serve themselves independently. Up to 100 small spiders can be born at one time.
Golden spider
The sak spider, or golden spider (Cheiracanthium), has a size of only 10 mm, but with its bite it is capable of causing extensive tissue necrosis (necrosis), which is very painful. Its habitats: European countries, Australia and Canada.
Externally small, the spider is yellow or greenish in color and produces a strong cytotoxin poison. In the bite area, redness and sharp pain first appear, the area swells, gradually turning into a blister or wound.
According to experts, it is these spiders that cause the most trouble for people compared to other types of arachnoids.
