Are There Poisonous Spiders in New England?

On the spookiest day of the year, it seems only fitting to discuss one of THE most feared, and dreaded of pests – SPIDERS!!  Maybe it’s the sight of all those extra legs? Or that ominous, creepy “tickle” when they skitter across your skin? Or the invisible wispy webs, that seemingly jump out at your face and get stuck in your hair and eyelashes?  

Point being, any of those factors can catch even the most hard-nosed, unshakable individual off guard. So after your heart rate settles back down and you can again think rationally, you might wonder – Are there any dangerous spiders in New England?

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According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there are only three spiders in all of the U.S. recognized as having venom that is threatening to humans. This list includes the: Black Widow Spiders, Brown Recluse Spiders and the Hobo Spiders.  But are there any here in New England?  Short answer –  yes.

But before you panic, let us elaborate. Of the three mentioned, only the Northern black widow is considered native to the New England region; as opposed to the Southern and Western varieties. Here’s the good news … verified sightings of the northern widow have been exceedingly rare – phew!  So you can rest assured that the likelihood of you encountering a northern widow in New England, while possible, is extremely unlikely.

The brown recluse, southern & western black widow and hobo spiders are NOT native to New England. That said, there have been verified reports of these leggy louts being transported in on goods (yes – like grapes). The good news here, are these varieties are more adapted to warmer climates, so infestations are not likely to occur in New England, from their “hitchhike.”

Again, while the probability of being bitten is very low – especially since, the black widow is not easily provoked, it’s still wise to know the symptoms of a black widow spider bite.  First, expect a stinging, burning pain, as well as swelling and redness at the bite site to occur right away. Other possible symptoms include:

• High blood pressure
• Increased sweating
• Chills
• Fever
• Nausea & vomiting
• Headache
• Muscle pain or cramping
• Itching or rash
• Difficulty breathing

As you can see, these symptoms can appear similar to many other health conditions. So if you do believe you may have been bitten, it’s best to seek medical attention.  That said, where children are involved, bites can be fatal – seeking IMMEDIATE emergency medical help is necessary.

Even if encountering a dangerous spider in New England is as likely as bumping into Beyoncé at Whole Foods; you may prefer NOT to share your home with any eight-legged critters. Their very presence in your home may actually be an indication of a more serious pest infestation. This is because spiders feed off of other common household pests.  

We recommend frequent dusting of corners and removal of any cobwebs on both the interior and exterior of your home. Making sure you have window screens that are free of holes and securely installed. Sealing cracks and crevices can also help.

However, those measures alone may not be enough and calling a trusted licensed pest management pro may be necessary.  A pro will understand the biology and habitat of common pests. They also have the knowledge, skills, and equipment to target pests at the source.

When you choose Modern, not only do you get year-round protection against 60 common household pests – including spiders – but we do so with minimal exposure to materials for the safety of your family, home, and the environment.

You can rest easy with our team of truly knowledgeable professionals, who are consistently prompt, efficient, polite and helpful.  We understand that customers just want the job done, and done right – which is why we offer 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Contact the experts at Modern Pest Services for a FREE quote today!  Or call 1-800-323- PEST

Boston MA Resources – Spider Bites (Black Widow and Brown Recluse) Symptoms, Poisonous, and Treatment

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Arachnophobia | Connecticut Poison Control Center

Brown Recluse and Black Widow Spiders

There are primarily two spiders in the United States that are harmful to humans: the brown recluse and the black widow. Occasionally a brown recluse or black widow will make its way to this part of the country. Usually the spiders are only “passengers” in boxes, crates or even cars that have originated from warmer climates.

Bites from all spiders can result in mild redness and pain; treatment consists of washing the wound and applying an antibiotic ointment. A cool compress may help. The victim should seek medical attention if there are signs of an infection, an ulcer that does not heal, or a bite is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, fever, rash, or if severe pain or cramping spreads from the bite to other parts of the body.

Black widow spiders (Latrodectus) measure approximately one-half inch in length and have a shiny black body with red, yellow, or orange markings on the abdomen. This mark may assume an hourglass appearance. Only the female spider is a danger to humans. Black widows may be found in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the southern parts of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. However, true black widow spider sightings or bites are uncommon in New England.

If a black widow spider bites, do not panic! No one in the United States has died from a black widow spider bite in over 10 years. Very often, no serious symptoms develop. Black widow bites may go unnoticed or feel like a sharp pinprick. These spiders may bite more than once and may hold on for a few seconds. The wound site may show one or two small puncture wounds. Within 20 to 40 minutes the patient usually experiences a dull ache or numbing sensation near the bite site. Pain progresses and spreads to the abdomen (stomach cramps), back, and extremities.

If muscle cramps develop or pain is severe, take the patient to the nearest hospital. Some victims need to be evaluated at a health care facility. There is treatment for a black widow spider bite that can take care of the symptoms. Various medications are used to treat the muscle cramps, spasms and pain of a bite. Black widow spider antivenin is seldom necessary, but may be considered in very young children, the elderly or pregnant women if they do not respond to standard therapy.

The brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa) measures approximately two-fifths of an inch in length, with long legs (3/4″). A dark violin shape located behind its three pairs of eyes gives it the name “fiddle back” spider. Color may range from yellow to pale or dusky brown. Most active at night, this shy, solitary spider is called a “recluse” because it hides and is not commonly found out in the open. The brown recluse is not native to any of the New England States. “Brown recluse spider bites” in this area of the country are usually caused by other spiders or bugs, or are other medical, non-bite, problems.

At first, the bite of the brown recluse may go unnoticed, although slight pain has been reported. Within the first hour, a local burning/stinging sensation develops. The bite area becomes red and skin temperature increases. Within four hours, the area exhibits a “bull’s-eye” appearance, forming a blister in some cases. This blister may rupture in 8 to 36 hours, creating an ulcer.

There is no special treatment or medication used to treat a brown recluse spider bite. If infection develops, antibiotics are used. If a wound becomes deep and infected, occasionally surgery is needed. Anytime there is a bite or a wound that is not healing and getting worse, see a physician for evaluation.

Tarantulas

Some of the most feared spiders are perfectly harmless. While the daddy longlegs spider can grow to sizes of three inches across, they generally avoid people and are not known to bite.

Tarantulas are often shown in horror movies and at Halloween. Most of these scary, hairy spiders are completely harmless however if left alone. Tarantulas are shy and non-aggressive by nature. They have very little venom and the bite of the American tarantula is usually no worse than one from its smaller cousins. The bite of some tropical species may cause small lesions.

Tarantula owners and handlers should be careful to avoid harassing these creatures though. When a tarantula feels threatened it will use its hind legs to throw barbed hairs off of its abdomen. These hairs, called urticating hairs, can get into the eye, nose and throat, causing irritation and respiratory symptoms. If you to come in contact with a tarantula remember these tips:

• Always wash your hands after handling a tarantula.
• Be aware of its posture.
• Call the poison center or consult with your physician if you develop pain and redness in one or both of your eyes, or respiratory issues.
• Unless you are allergic, most insect and spider bites can be treated with cold compresses, analgesics and antihistamines as needed.
• Any bite area that develops increased pain, swelling or redness in the area should be evaluated by a physician.

Prevention of Spider Bites

• Keep attics, garages, and basements clean.
• Wear gloves, shoes, and socks when gardening, cleaning the garage, or cutting/carrying firewood.
• Do not leave soiled shoes outside where spiders may crawl in.
• Inspect and shake clothing before use. Do not hang clothes against walls.
• Seal small openings where spiders may enter house.
• Place bed so it doesn’t touch the wall.
• Avoid reaching into dark closets, boxes or other places where spiders may live without looking first.

Insect and Spider Bites | Westport, CT

The season of bites and stings has begun in earnest.  Many parents call worried that an bite is from a spider or a tick. We cannot usually distinguish between an insect, spider or tick bite without seeing the actual offender in action.  However, these bites are all initially treated in the same way (providing symptomatic relief.) 

Tick bites are less likely to cause initial inflammation and redness, and are only an issue if followed (3-30 days later) by a steadily expanding, ringed, pain/itch free, flat rash that is present for at least several days (or an acute, febrile, flu like illness. )  If you are worried about a possible lyme rash, take a photo daily and come in if the area is increasing in size over several days.

 

Insects such as bees, ants, fleas, flies, mosquitoes, wasps and arachnids such as spiders may bite or sting when provoked or distressed, or bite to feed on our protein filled blood. The saliva or venom injected into the skin will cause the body to release histamine, a chemical that brings more blood flow into the area (to help fight infection.)  This results in swelling, redness, firmness, pain and/or itch in the area of the bite or sting. This type of localized reaction, while uncomfortable (and sometimes quite large) is of no danger.  It is often delayed, and some bites and stings are at their worst 24-48 hours later.

 

If you are very sensitive to an insect’s venom (“allergic”), bites and stings can cause a rare but potentially fatal condition called anaphylactic shock.  Typical symptoms of anaphylaxis include wheezing, hoarseness or difficulty breathing; nausea, vomiting or diarrhea; dizziness or feeling faint; difficulty swallowing and/or swollen face or mouth; and confusion, anxiety or agitation.    If you child experiences any of these reactions after a bite or sting, call 911 immediately and administer an epinephrine pen if available.

 

When the reaction is mild, the majority of bites and stings can be treated at home. Remove the stinger if it is lodged in your skin, wash the affected area with soap and water, and apply an ice pack to reduce pain and swelling. Topical anti-itch creams (Cortaid, Benadryl, Calamine or Caladryl), oral pain relievers (acetaminophen or ibuprofen) and antihistamines (Benadryl, Zyrtec, Claritin or Allegra) may be used to combat uncomfortable symptoms.

 

Benadryl, ibuprofen and acetaminophen dosages by weight 

can be found here.

 

 
Bugs that Bite

 
Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes select their victims by evaluating scent, exhaled carbon dioxide and the chemicals in a person’s sweat. Only females bite! (Males don’t need blood as they don’t make eggs. )

Most mosquito bites are harmless, but occasionally a mosquito bite causes a large area of swelling, soreness and redness. This type of reaction, most common in children, is sometimes referred to as “skeeter syndrome”.

Mosquito bites start as puffy, white bumps that appear a few minutes after the bite.  The bumps usually swell and turn redder, itchier over 24-48 hours, and can sometimes become quite large.  Occasionally there will be a small blister in the center. As the swelling goes down, the area may look like a ringed lyme rash, but the size does not increase as a lyme rash would.

 
Fleas

Flea bites can be grouped in lines or clusters. If you’re particularly sensitive to flea bites, they can cause hives or blisters.
Photos of flea bites

 
Horse Flies 

Horse fly bites are more immediately painful than those of mosquitoes. Their bites may become very itchy, sometimes causing a large swelling that can take days to resolve.   Again, this is not dangerous allergic reaction- merely uncomfortable.

 

Black fly bites are common in the northeast from April to July, especially in wet areas.  These flies secrete an anticoagulant (blood thinner) into the skin, which both numbs the area and causes bleeding.  The bites often look like blood blisters, and tend to be around the neck and ears, or by the ankles.  Localized swelling and itch can last as long as several weeks.

 
Stinging Insects

Insects will sting humans only as a defensive move against a perceived threat. Typically, a bee or stinging ant’s stinger will be accompanied by a small amount of venom that, when injected into your skin, causes most of the itching and pain associated with sting, as well as any allergic reaction. Common stinging insects in the U.S. include bees, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, and fire ants.

A bee sting feels similar to a wasp sting, but the sting and a venomous sac will be left in the wound. You should remove this immediately by scraping it out using something with a hard edge, such as a bank card. Don’t pinch the sting out with your fingers or tweezers because you may spread the venom.  Stings are often worse after 24-48 hours, but are not dangerous unless accompanied by symptoms of anaphylaxis.

 

 
Spider Bites
THESE ARE VERY UNCOMMON IN CONNECTICUT!

There are primarily two spiders in the United States that are harmful to humans: the brown recluse and the black widow.

Most active at night, the brown “recluse” spider hides and is not commonly found out in the open, preferring woodpiles and sheds, closets, garages, basements, and other places that are dry and generally undisturbed. The brown recluse is most commonly found in the South and is not native to any of the New England States.

A brown recluse spider bite initially often is not felt, or causes just mild discomfort.   Within the first hour, a local burning/stinging sensation develops. The bite area becomes red and skin temperature increases. Within four hours, the area exhibits a “bull’s-eye” appearance, forming a blister in some cases. This blister may rupture in 8 to 36 hours, creating an ulcer or brown/black scabbed center. There is no special treatment or medication used to treat a brown recluse spider bite. If infection develops it is treated with antibiotics.

 
Brown Recluse Spider:

 

Brown recluse spider bite pictures can be found here.

 
Black Widows may be found throughout New England, but true black widow spider sightings or bites are uncommon.

If a black widow spider bites, do not panic! No one in the United States has died from a black widow spider bite in over 10 years. Very often, no serious symptoms develop. Black widow bites may go unnoticed or feel like a sharp pinprick. These spiders may bite more than once and may hold on for a few seconds. The wound site may show one or two small puncture wounds. Within 20 to 40 minutes the patient usually experiences a dull ache or numbing sensation near the bite site. Pain progresses and spreads to the abdomen (stomach cramps), back, and extremities.

If muscle cramps develop or pain is severe, take the patient to the nearest hospital for treatment of the symptoms.  Anti-venom is available, but rarely needed.

 
Black Widow Spider
  

 
Photos of various stings and bites can be found here
For more information on tick bites, click here.
For more information on bug repellents, click here. 

  

 

Got a Bite? Don’t Blame it on a Spider

Got a Bite? Don’t Blame it on a Spider

By

Chris Williams on June 7, 2016.

News Flash!! Contrary to popular belief, spiders almost never bite people. There is evidence that most of the bites that people (or their doctors) attribute to spiders are not from spiders at all. One survey found that 80% of suspected spider bites were actually caused by other arthropods or were symptoms of a medical condition instead (see How Common Are Spider Bites?). There are at least 30 medical conditions that are easily misdiagnosed as spider bites and plenty of other arthropods that will bite you more readily than a spider would.

A typical reaction to a spider bite is one or more of these symptoms: redness, minor swelling, localized pain, and itching. These symptoms are almost the same for any bite from any insect or arthropod such as a mosquito, chigger, tick, ant, even a wasp. There may be two tiny punctures from the spider’s jaws. If there’s only one central puncture, it’s not a spider bite.

Unless You Saw the Spider Bite You, You’re Probably Mistaken

Some people can be extra sensitive to the saliva or venom injected by the bite of any arthropod. It’s when the bite symptoms don’t quickly abate or get worse that people seek medical help. At that point, if the victim suggests that the bite was from a spider, the physician will often agree.

Rarely does the victim actually see what bit them, and even less often is there an actual specimen of the biter. For example, it has been estimated that 60% of alleged brown recluse spider bites occur in areas of the U.S. where no brown recluse spiders are even known to exist! Yet, this spider gets so much negative publicity and people are so afraid of spiders, that the brown recluse gets undue credit for causing personal trauma.

Most spiders are not even able to break human skin if they attempt to bite. Spiders only bite defensively; they do not come after you. To be bitten by a spider, you have to step on it, roll on it, smash it with a part of your body, or otherwise cause it bodily harm. A child may be bitten when playing with a spider, but this, too, is very rare. When spider bites do occur, it’s generally because someone jammed their foot into a shoe containing a spider, or their hand into a glove, or rolled over onto a spider while in bed. If the spider could have gotten out of the situation, it would have.

What About Poisonous Spider Bites?

Fortunately, here in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, poisonous spiders are not a real concern. The only truly “poisonous” spiders in the U.S. are the black widow spider and the brown recluse spider. Neither one occurs naturally in Massachusetts or New Hampshire, but there are occasional introductions of the spiders when they are carried in by travelers or are shipped in on produce or other products (see Do We Have Black Widow Spiders or Not?).

Even if we did have poisonous spiders here in the Northeast, the same would be true. Both spiders are extremely shy, people are rarely bitten, and bites are rarely life-threatening. There have been no deaths from black widow spider bites in the U.S. in more than 10 years. Spiders just get a bad rap.

Photo Credit : By CDC – http://hardinmd.lib.uiowa.edu/cdc/6266.html | Public Domain

How Dangerous Are The Yellow Sac Spiders In New England?    

Date Posted: February 18, 2020
Category: Spiders

The yellow sac spider, also known as the black-footed spider, is a nuisance pest that is undoubtedly upsetting to spot in your home or business. These creepy crawlers are a light, pale yellow with a greenish tint and measure between 0.25 and 0.38 inches long. Their abdomens are pale yellow/light gray and sometimes have an orange-brown stripe running down the middle. Their cephalothorax, which is the head and thorax fused together, is an orangey-brownish-red color and they have eight dark eyes in two horizontal rows on either side of their head. Their front legs are longer than their back legs and they have a leg span of up to one inch.
 
Yellow sac spiders have a pair of chelicerae, which are claw-like appendages in front of their mouth. Their fangs easily penetrate human skin and although a yellow sac spider bite isn’t fatal, it can be quite dangerous. People often confuse yellow sac spider bites with brown recluse spider bites, but the latter are much more dangerous.
 
When a yellow sac spider bites you, they inject a venom that has a toxic effect on cells and can be poisonous to nerve tissue. The bite usually causes pain and discomfort lasting up to two hours. Many people experience redness, swelling, and burning, and may even experience headaches, nausea, and vomiting.
 
These pests usually bite humans during outdoor activities like gardening or mowing the lawn. They get caught in the folds of your clothing and cause damaging necrotic bites that can kill skin tissue.
 
Yellow sac spiders usually make their way inside during the summer months as they seek a place to cool off and find food. They gain entry through small structural cracks and are usually found crawling up walls and other vertical surfaces. They can also get inside through rotting wood that has been weakened from water damage. 
 
As their name suggests, they create silken sacs in protected areas underneath logs or timber, leaves, plants, debris on the ground, and rocks. They do not weave webs but are often found where the walls meet the ceiling. As nighttime hunters, they emerge from their sacs at twilight to find prey. 
 
There are a number of preventative measures you can take to reduce your chances of a yellow sac spider infestation:

1. Upon spotting their silken sacs, get rid of them immediately. You can use a vacuum to remove them from ceiling corners. Once removed, discard the vacuum bag to prevent them from spreading further.
2. Seal up any holes, cracks, or gaps in the foundation, doors, and windows, as they can easily gain entry through these tiny openings.
3. Eliminate moisture and sources of food, like little bugs and other insects.
4. Remove inside clutter and storage items. This eliminates possible harborage areas where yellow sac spiders can hide in their silken sacs until feeding time.
5. Remove yard debris like logs, rocks, leaves, woodpiles, and dead vegetation.

The thing to remember about yellow sac spiders is that they’re very good at hiding. Not only that, but because they only emerge for feeding at night while we are asleep, an infestation can go unnoticed for long periods of time. The best thing you can do to protect your home from these sneaky pests is to contact the professionals at Big Blue Bug Solutions.
 
Our team of licensed and certified experts is experienced at identifying, eliminating, and preventing yellow sac spider infestations so you don’t have to. We offer a variety of residential and commercial services that are customized to fit your individual needs. From indoor inspection to outdoor perimeter treatments, we’ve got you covered. Our homeowner’s plan provides year-round pest control and includes three preventative maintenance visits throughout the year. In the event that a pest returns between visits, we provide re-treatment at no additional cost. Call us today for a consultation and rid your property of pests once and for all.

Schedule Service or call (888) 258-3284

Tags: home pest control   |   spider control   |   spiders   |  

Spider Bites | Burlington, VT

If you’re looking for dangerous spiders, Vermont is not the state for you.

While most spiders produce some type of venom, the types of spiders in Vermont are not harmful. Spider bites are not common, and most spiders will cause only minor symptoms, such as pain, swelling, redness and itching if they bite you.

Types of spiders

The range of the northern black widow—a spider with a potentially dangerous bite—does theoretically extend into southern Vermont, but sightings are exceptionally rare. The Northern New England Poison Center has no confirmed northern black widow bites in more than 15 years serving the state. And contrary to what you may hear, the brown recluse spider does not reside in Vermont.

Every once in a while, there will be a Vermont encounter with the more well-known southern or western black widow, with the classic red hourglass on its belly. These spiders are not native to Vermont, but occasionally will hitch a ride into the area on produce grown elsewhere, particularly grapes. While this is still rare, it’s a good idea to check your produce for pests and wash it thoroughly.

Spiders bite when…

Spiders generally only bite when they are feeling threatened. You can prevent most spider bites by taking steps not to disturb them. For example, if you have clothes or shoes that you wear infrequently, look them over or shake them out before putting them on. Spiders may hang out in piles of wood or other materials. So, wear gloves and long sleeves if you work with firewood.

If you a spider bites you, follow these steps:

• Wash the bite area with mild soap and water.
• Put a thin layer of antibiotic first aid cream over the area.
• Apply a cloth dampened with cold water or filled with ice to the area to reduce swelling.
• Elevate the area if possible.

It is unlikely you will be bitten by a dangerous spider in Vermont, but if you are concerned, call the poison center at 1-800-222-1222, visit www.nnepc.org to chat online or text POISON to 85511. If you can safely capture the spider or take a picture of it, we may be able to rule out the more dangerous spiders, but take care not to get bitten again.

If you have any questions about dangerous spiders, contact the poison center at any time.

Gayle Finkelstein is Vermont Poison Prevention Educator with the Northern New England Poison Center in Community Health Improvement at the University of Vermont Medical Center.

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90,000 Worker in Australia was once again bitten in the penis by a poisonous spider

September 28, 2016

Photo author, Getty Images

Photo caption,

Red-backed black widow spiders are widespread in Australia. Each year, they bite up to 2 thousand people

In Australia, a poisonous spider bit the penis of a 21-year-old construction worker for the second time.

On Tuesday, Jordan, the worker’s name, decided to use a mobile toilet at a construction site in Sydney, where a similar incident happened to him five months ago.

Jordan, who does not want his last name to be revealed, reported that the spider bit him in exactly the same place as the first time.

“Something I have had bad luck lately,” he says. “I was sitting in the toilet and minding my own business, when suddenly I felt myself stung. I looked down and saw a spider’s legs under the seat.”

According to him, after the first bite, he became very careful in the use of mobile toilets.

“After the first bite, I didn’t want to use them anymore.But our toilets were cleaned that day, and I decided that everything would be all right that day. I carefully examined the toilet seat and did not notice anything suspicious. And here you are – now I can’t straighten up from the pain. “

According to Jordan, he does not know which spider bit him. One of his colleagues brought him to the city hospital, where he was injected with an antidote serum.

No big deal

“The first time my comrades were worried about me,” says Jordan.“This time it was hard for them to take it seriously.”

He was released from the hospital the same day. He plans to go to work soon, but vows that he will never use the mobile toilet again.

Red-backed spider that he meets in Australia, it is a close relative of the “black widow” species and has a characteristic red stripe on the abdomen.

Its bite causes severe pain, sweating and vomiting.

Although there are cases of death of people from the bite of this spider in medicine, since 1956, when antidote serum appeared, such cases were no longer recorded.

Autumn spiders

Chronicles of Arachnophobia

Autumn is a season of creeping activity throughout the country.

According to many experts, it was the abnormally hot summer that provoked the invasion of not only flying ants, about which we wrote a couple of issues ago, but now also spiders. In this regard, their activity is noticeably higher than in recent years. In backyard gardens, in parks and on bushes, paths and paths, and in some corners of my bathroom, long-legged creatures weaved their webs.In residential buildings, spiders strive to make themselves warm nests and breed their eight-legged offspring.

Experts and scientists, as well as the largest bug protection organization in the country, reassure the population and declare that there are no dangerous spiders in Britain.
The numerous community of local spiders, according to them, is divided into two main groups:
1) completely safe hay spiders and
2) dangerous in appearance, but very harmless and fearful araneomorphic spiders.

The bite of these insects in the UK is a rather rare phenomenon, since most spiders are very peaceful.At least that’s what Buglife, a nonprofit charity for the conservation and protection of insects, says. (Don’t panic them!)

Despite this, from year to year the media tell stories about the victims of the bite of the “black widow”. Indeed, about a hundred years ago, British ships that traded with southern tropical countries accidentally brought relatively dangerous spiders to England (death occurs only in rare cases).

According to some reports, the first aliens arrived to us from the island of Madeira in 1879.We are talking about a false “black widow” who lives mainly in the south, but recently experts have noted an active migration of this emigrant individual to the west and even to the north of the country. (Hello global warming!)

The main habitat of the false “widow” is Southern Europe, all of Western Asia and northern Africa. And although this spider itself is not aggressive, and its bite, according to the stories of victims, is no worse than a wasp bite, anaphylactic shock following it can be dangerous, which can cause an allergic reaction and a strong immune response.

Last year, experts from pest control centers visited schools in East London many times in connection with the discovery of these spiders there. As a result, it was decided to close two junior and two high schools – in Newham: Star Lane Primary and Rokeby Secondary in Canning Town, Ellen Wilkinson Primary in Beckton and Lister Community School in Plaistow. Schools have been placed under long-term quarantine.

But is it only the false “black widow” that poses such a threat?

The facts are as follows: out of about 650 species of spiders living in Britain, 12 can be dangerous to humans at once.

In normal times, spiders stay away from human habitation, but an irresistible biological urge to mate and lay eggs dramatically changes their behavior. Because of the hot summer and the warm autumn that has begun, flies and midges have bred in Britain, which means that spiders will not experience a lack of food during their breeding season.

Matt Clark, a 31-year-old British soldier, fell victim to the false black widow a few years ago. When he was sleeping peacefully in his own bed, the “widow” overtook him and bit him.

Upon waking up, the soldier did not immediately notice a slight itching in his leg, but then a huge blister filled with purulent fluid appeared at the site of irritation. When it burst through, a large wound formed on the leg. Experiencing severe burning pain and practically losing the ability to walk, he went to the hospital.

“I have been serving in the army for ten years. I have been to different parts of the world and have seen the most venomous spiders on this planet. But in the end I got bitten in my own bed! ” Clarke says.

This story ended well. The doctors helped, but the leg was left with large scars from the meeting with the most poisonous spider in Britain.

Don’t panic! Today, such episodes are still rare.

False “black widow” (lat. Steatoda grossa)

But … according to entomologists, following the false “black widow” over time, a real “widow” may well move to foggy Albion – the climate is almost suitable for her.

“Black Widow” (lat. Latrodectus mactans)

There is also indirect evidence that this has already happened.According to the staff of the British Society Arachnological, in recent years they have been receiving reports of “strange spiders” more and more often. It is quite possible that arachnids that arrived and arrived with goods from the south are beginning to actively spread in Great Britain.

Stuart Hine, of the British Natural History Museum, also links increasing insect activity to global warming.

“We are getting warmer and the new climatic situation is beginning to suit many species of spiders.They are quite capable of settling down and taking root. For us, this means that a number of aggressive varieties, which previously existed only in small local colonies in Great Britain, will now spread throughout the country ”(Hein).

He adds that it’s only a matter of time before the poisonous spiders spread across Britain. And after the false “black widow” in our homes, a real one may appear.

And how is it dangerous? Let me remind you: the basis of the poison of the “black widow” is a neurotoxin.The poison is 15 times stronger than that of a rattlesnake. Potentially, this poison can cause complete or partial paralysis in a person. A person immediately after a bite has severe pain in the ligaments of the limbs. He cannot stand on his feet, there is nausea, cold sweat, pain in the region of the heart. A large blue swelling appears at the site of the bite. Fatal cases are not uncommon.

We learned about the “black widow”, her relative and potential global risks. What about the other species inhabiting the UK? Who else can you meet with us?

TOP-3 most common spiders in the kingdom

GIANT HOUSE SPIDER

Representatives of this species build funnel-like nests where they patiently wait for their prey.They hunt flies, ants and other small insects. They live in basements, bathrooms, and other secluded places where they are minimally disturbed by people. They grow up to 12 centimeters in length. Cases of bites have not been recorded.

SPIDER-CARDINAL

Brown. By weight, it is one of the largest spiders in the UK. It grows only up to 2.5 cm, but the length of the paws is more than 6 centimeters. Likes to settle outside the walls of premises, in basements and garages. Long-liver – able to live up to 8 years.It bites, but the bites are completely painless.

LACE SPIDER

It got its name from the unusually beautiful shape of the cobweb, which is often woven next to windows. Grows up to 2 centimeters. It dwells more often in forests and gardens, but recently it has begun to settle in houses as well. It is interesting in that it is quite aggressive, complaints about bites of this species among residents of Great Britain have become more frequent.

It hurts, but the bites disappear in just 10-12 hours without any health consequences.

Disappointing news for arachnophobes: spider activity in the United Kingdom peaks in mid-October, so they still have to mentally prepare for intriguing encounters.

Arachnologists recommend that the British carefully check their homes for cracks and dusty corners in which spiders often inhabit. The best way to deal with uninvited guests is to clean the premises frequently. The good news is that the bites of huge domestic spiders are non-venomous, and when meeting people and pets, most of them prefer to run away from you on all eight legs.So sleep well!

Dmitry Burlutsky

90,000 7 most unusual spiders that occur in nature

Distribution

This species is widespread in Costa Rica, Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, Cuba, Jamaica and El Salvador. In the United States, it is common in California and Florida, especially around Miami Beach and the Atlantic coast. Individual populations inhabit many islands in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.

In recent years, the horned spider has also been found in Colombia and the Dominican Republic. To date, two subspecies of G.c. are known. cancriformis G.c. gertschi.

Behavior

Thorny orb-web spider prefers to settle in mangrove forests and wet areas in trees and bushes. Differs in enviable hard work. Every evening, weaves a new net in the shape of a circle; in adult females, it can be up to 30 cm in diameter.

It is located on the branches in an almost vertical position, most often at a height of about 6 m above the ground, and the animal itself, waiting for prey, is at the bottom of its hunting structure.

Smaller males live on strings placed near the female’s nets. They do not hesitate to sometimes feed on her trophies, preliminarily tapping rhythmically with their paws on the threads. Such politeness allows them to stay alive and not be eaten by mistake. Up to three gentlemen can feed from the table of their girlfriend at the same time.

The diet consists of all kinds of flying insects. Fruit flies, whiteflies, beetles and moths are prey.

Behavior of a spiked orb-web spider.

Reproduction of thorny spiders – orb weaving occurs at the end of the year. The spider web is built mainly by females every night, males usually hang on one of the spider threads near the female’s nest. The spider trap hangs at a slight angle to the perpendicular line. The network itself consists of a base, which is formed by one vertical thread, it is connected to the second main line and radial threads.

The structure forms an angle formed by three basic radii.Sometimes, a web has more than three basic radii.

After constructing the base, the spider begins to build a large outer radius, and then continues to attach secondary radii, which are attached in a spiral.

Females live in solitude on separate panels. Up to three males can hang from nearby silk threads. Females can be found at any time of the year, but they are mainly found from October to January. Males are caught during October and November. Spider webs hang 1 to 6 meters above the ground.Daytime activity, so these spiders easily collect prey at this time.

Reproduction

There is still no reliable information about the features of the reproductive behavior of horned spiders in the wild. All data are obtained only as a result of laboratory observations. It is not known if the female mates in vivo with only one or more males.

The mating season occurs in late spring or early summer.

The gentleman who has decided to continue the family warns the lady about the seriousness of his intentions with four quick strikes on the edge of the net.He repeats them until the beauty demonstrates her attitude towards him. If she doesn’t like the challenger, she will simply chase him away.

In case of a positive answer, the male approaches his chosen one and, in order not to fall, joins her with a thread. Mating lasts about 35 minutes and is repeated several times with short breaks.

The female lays eggs in autumn in the amount of 100 to 260 eggs in one oblong golden or, less often, greenish cocoon.It attaches nearby to the bottom of the leaves.

The cocoon is attached first by thin whitish and yellowish threads, and then by thicker and stronger dark green threads. All this structure is additionally equipped with a special canopy.

After the completion of construction work, the mother dies. Her life expectancy does not exceed one year. Males live for about 3 months and die one week after mating.

Spiders hatch in winter and continue to be together for two to five weeks, and then scatter in different directions.

Description

The body length of females is 5-9 mm, and the width of their abdomen is 10-13 mm. The main background of the opisthosoma varies from white to orange, in some regions it can be black. Six spine-like processes, which are black or red, branch off from it. They are located at the edges of the opisthosoma in a diagonal order. Sometimes the tips of the thorns are colored orange.

Thorn shape and coloration have many regional differences depending on the habitat. The upper part of the opisthosoma is covered with miniature blackish dots like craters arranged in four rows.

Body length of males is 2-3 mm. They have it more elongated, not wide. The abdomen is gray, covered with white spots. Spines are poorly visible, it is difficult to distinguish no more than 4-5 of them. The legs are short.

The bite of this horned spider is not dangerous for humans. It causes short-term pain, swelling, and redness in nearby tissues.

Spiders are spiders whose web weaving technique can delight even a professional weaver. Once scientists even conducted a funny experiment – they sent two representatives of this species to one of them. What was their surprise when these creatures, even in conditions of complete weightlessness, managed to create a web of ideal shape and structure.

What else do we know about these spiders? For example, where do they live? What do they eat? And how dangerous are they for people?

The most glamorous

Probably the main mods among this kind of animals can be called Cosmophasis umbratica. The females of this species of tropical spider are quite simple, but the males are dressed up to smithereens. Nature has endowed them with a beautiful shell that reflects ultraviolet light. In other words, it shimmers in the light. And moreover, the brighter the spider’s body shines, the more interest it arouses in the opposite sex.

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General information

Orb-webs are spiders, whose family includes more than 3 thousand species. Given this, it is safe to say that they are leading among creatures like themselves. However, this also means that it is quite difficult to characterize them in general terms.Indeed, despite some similarities, their external differences can drive even an experienced researcher into a stupor.

What unites them all? The correct answer is the spider web, which is woven by all the orb-webs. Spiders of this species, despite all their differences, create networks of a similar shape. It is difficult to confuse it with the creations of other arachnids, since it has an almost perfect shape. Looking at it, you can clearly distinguish both the main threads and additional ones, in the form of circles.

The largest family

The jumping spider family includes more than 610 genera and almost 6,000 distinct species.These creatures do not weave a web to lure their victims into it, but, on the contrary, actively participate in the hunt, in which they are helped by excellent vision. And before mating, they put on a grand show with dizzying jumps and dances.

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Appearance of spiders

These representatives of arachnids can boast the richest set of skin tones.They can be both snow-white and poisonous green. In general, the color of their body depends on the habitat and serves as a kind of natural camouflage.

But there is something that makes all representatives of the Orb-Web species similar to each other. Spiders of this family have a large abdomen, which in its volume greatly exceeds the cephalothorax. Also on the front pair of paws there is a special process, thanks to which they weave their web.

Habitats

Trapping nets of orb-web spiders are scattered all over the world.They can be found in both North and South America, Africa, Europe and even Australia. Some representatives of this species feel quite confident on the territory of Russia. In particular, the cross spider is the most common.

If we talk about the preferences of these arachnids, then we can say with confidence that they like quiet and cozy corners, hidden from prying eyes. Therefore, they try to weave their web in those places where contact with the human world is minimal.

However, sometimes they can change this rule. The reason for this is the desire to find land rich in food. Therefore, you should not be surprised that the orb-web spider has decided to settle in the garden or in the vegetable garden. Indeed, in such places there is a lot of prey, which, by the way, is often a pest.

Largest web

Darwin’s spiders, or Caerostris darwini, weave their webs across rivers, ponds, and lakes to catch insects flying over the water. If necessary, these traps can be huge – up to 2.8 square meters.meters in area and about 25 m in diameter. And if you take into account the size of the creatures that weave them, then one can only be surprised at their hard work. After all, Darwin’s spiders are quite small: the female of this species reaches only 2.5 cm, and the male is even less, about 6 mm. And research has shown that the strands of their huge web are twice as elastic as the webs of other spiders. And they are 10 times more resistant to stretching than Kevlar.

How does a spider weave its web?

As you might have guessed, the web is needed not only for aesthetic pleasure.In practice, this is a powerful trapping mechanism, honed over many centuries by evolution. How does it work?

The construction of a new web begins with the spider throwing one end of its web with the wind in the hope that it will catch on, for example, a tree. After the goal is achieved, the orb-web, using the newly made bridge, begins to weave other branches of the web.

At the same time, he has two types of threads in stock. One is strong and elastic, the other is sticky. The first one he uses to construct the skeleton of the web.The second is wound in circles in a spiral in order to cover as large an area as possible.

A signal thread runs along the entire web, the vibrations from which are able to inform the hunter that the victim has flown into the trap. After that, he just needs to wait a little until the prey is finally entangled in the net.

5th place – Spider “PLEVAKA”

An interesting species of spiders that can be found everywhere. They live in tropical countries and are also found in northern latitudes such as Russia.In the northern regions, they prefer to live in warm living quarters.

As the name suggests, this species hunts by spitting on the victim. His web is not only in the abdomen, but also in the cephalothorax. When the prey approaches, the spider stretches out its front leg, as if checking the distance, then spit out the cobweb, aiming at the limbs and wings of the insect in order to immobilize it. In some species that live in tropical regions, the web mixes with poison, thereby gradually weakening the victim.

Maximum size – 1 cm excluding paws. Spiders are light brown to brown in color with black stripes.

or not?

Many are interested in how dangerous it is for others, including people. Well, this arachnid has poisonous glands. But its toxins are dangerous only for insects and small mammals. In particular, it can cause paralysis in them.

As for people, it is not fatal for them. But the pain from him will haunt the poor fellow for a long time.True, spiders rarely bite people, it is much easier for them to jump to the ground and run away than to get involved in a senseless fight with a giant.

The largest venom glands

Most spiders have some form of venom, but very few are truly dangerous to us. Spider venom is usually injected in tiny amounts to insects or other small prey, so it cannot harm humans. But Brazilian roaming spiders are the deadly exception to the rule. They are capable of killing a person in part because their large glands, up to 1 cm in size, secrete too much poison.But wandering spiders usually do not release all of their supply in one bite, so the likelihood of it becoming fatal is low.

Cross spider

There is also a web spider in Russia. Photos of this arachnid are presented in the article. His name is a cross. In general, this species of orb weaving differs little from its relatives. He got his name thanks to the pattern on the belly in the form of a cross. You can meet him both in the forest and in an ordinary park.

They are often difficult to spot as they hide from people.But with the arrival of autumn, everything changes – they begin the mating season. At this time, females weave cobwebs in the most prominent places so that the male does not miss them. And only with the arrival of the first cold weather, they again hide in their shelter.

In the world of spiders, it is the orb-webs that have earned a reputation as the best masters of weaving the web! Moreover, in 1973, two members of the orb weaving family, the cross spiders Anita and Arabella, were sent into space aboard NASA’s Skylab space station so that scientists could study the weaving process in zero gravity.

It turned out that even in space the structure of the web did not change; it had the same characteristic circular shape. In the skill of weaving nets, the circulars left their relatives far behind: for other spiders, the web does not have such a clear shape, but is only sloppy “funnels” or sheets of tangled threads.

Orb-web spiders form a whole family Araneidae

, which includes about 3000 species.

But uloborid spiders ( Uloboridae

, several hundred species) are sometimes mistakenly called orb-web spiders – because of the similarity of the cobweb.Both orb-webs and uloborids are widespread in various parts of the world and weave very similar trapping nets, but these hunters kill their victims in different ways.

Feeding the spiked orb-web spider.

Females build a web that they use to capture prey. They sit on a web with the outer side of the body turned downward, waiting for prey on the central disc. When a small insect, a fly sticks to the web, the spider accurately determines the position of the victim and rushes to it to bite, then transfers it to the central disk, where it eats the prey.

If the prey is smaller than the spider, it simply paralyzes the caught insect and moves it to eat. If the prey is larger than the spider, then first the prey is packed into a web, and only then it moves to the central disk.

In the event that several insects come across the whole network at once, then the spiked spider – the orb weaving – will find all the insects and paralyze them. If the spider is well fed, then the victims hang on the web for some time and are eaten later. Spiked spider – the web-web absorbs the liquid contents of its prey, the internal organs dissolve under the influence of poison.Dry carcasses covered with a chitinous membrane are discarded from the net. Often mummified remains lie around the cobweb. Spiked spider – the web web eats whiteflies, beetles, moths and other small insects.

Thorny spider – orb weaving got its name from the presence of thorns on the back. These spines are a defense against attack by function predators. These spiders are very small and subtle in the environment, which increases their chances of survival.

Most of us are afraid of spiders.In fact, about 30% of Americans are afraid of spiders. No wonder. They have several huge eyes, many long legs, and they love to scurry about in dark places. But these features are not common to most spiders. A lot of them are just really weird. Evolution played a big role in how these creatures evolved. They used unique and bizarre methods to survive, including camouflage and effective hunting abilities. Curious to find out who is fumbling there? Here are the 25 weirdest spiders.

25. Twig spider

The camouflage of this wonderful spider makes it look like a twig. Even if you happened to be next to one of them in his native India, you would hardly notice him. In addition, he weaves a Y-shaped web, and not the one we are used to seeing in spiders.

24. Spiked orb-web spider

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Although he looks intimidating, this little spotted guy is not dangerous to humans. However, he can weave a web where it annoys you.It is a unique, highly recognizable spider and can usually be seen around Houston.

23. Spider Maratus Volans

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Also called peacock spiders, these bright arachnids are very small and can fit on your nail. Male peacock spiders perform a mating dance to attract a female. Although there are 20 known species of such arachnids, only 8 have been officially identified.

22. Jumping ant spider

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

This cunning spider is also known as the red ant spider, it looks just like an ant to confuse its prey. Even in the animal kingdom, no one can be trusted.

21. Long-legged spider

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

The centipede spider does not weave a web, but lies in wait for its prey on a tree or stone. He sits completely motionless until prey appears: when it is within reach, he quickly attacks.If something larger than it is approaching, the spider will run away faster than you can blink.

20. Water spider

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

This spider is very strange. It creates a web to form a water bubble around it, and uses it as gills for breathing underwater. He uses his newly created gills to hunt underwater. And, yes, he can kill small fish. Even fish are not immune to spiders.

19.Australian funnel web

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

This antisocial spider usually stays away from humans, but humans encounter them when males go out during mating season to find a female. Unfortunately, such a meeting can be fatal. Thanks to its own, this spider is able to kill a person in 15 minutes.

18. Long-horned orb-web spider

Photo: flickr.com

Among the many strange spiders, this is one of the strangest.Firstly, it does not look like a spider at all, and secondly, it has incredibly long horns. It is because of their menacing appearance that you would probably be terribly frightened if you saw a spider in flesh.

17. Killer spider

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Most spiders are killers in their own right, and are patiently waiting for the right moment. But the killer spider really deserves its name. This spider preys on other spiders, and it does it perfectly thanks to its huge jaws and venom that help it deal with its opponents.If you were a spider, this would be your worst nightmare.

16. Hemp spider

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

If you were in the forest, you could imagine that this spider is watching your every step. Doesn’t that scare you? But it should. Evolving over millions of years, this spider has acquired the ability to look just like a tree, hence its name.

15. Jumping spider

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Nobody wants to know the fact that a spider can jump.They can already run fast, hide and build complex ones. But, jumping? No thanks. Unfortunately, the jumping spider does exactly what no one wants. He can jump a distance corresponding to the length of 50 of his bodies.

14. Black armored stealth spider

Photo: flickr.com

One of the many types of stealthy spiders, this animal uses leaves, grasses and cobwebs to build a complex trap for its prey. When she passes by, he jumps out like a demon, dragging the victim into his lair.

13. Wrapping Spider

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

If you are from Australia, then definitely weird. This rule of thumb is true squared when it comes to the wrapping spider. To hide from prey, it literally wraps itself around a branch and hides, looking incredibly flat. Fortunately, it is not very dangerous to humans, but it will make your knees shake when you think of it.

12. Spider Argyrodes Colubrinus

Photo: WikipediaCommons.com

Better known as the whip spider, this very strange spider boasts a long tail that resembles a whip, hence its name, and can be easily disguised as it also looks like a stick.

11. Smiling Spider

Photo: WikipediaCommons.com

Discovered in Hawaii, this spider looks like it has a smiling face on its belly. There are many species of spiders of this genus, and some of them have a frowning face rather than a smiling face.

10. Viciria – wide jaw

Photo: WikipediaCommons.com

This spider is distinguished not only by its unique body shape, but also by its massive jaws. Found in Singapore and Indonesia and possessing huge jaws, it is also part of the jumping spider family.

9. Scorpion-tailed spider

Photo: WikipediaCommons.com

Now we come to the really strange creatures. Unsurprisingly, this spider is found in Australia and Tasmania and has a very long tail.Its body shape is unique in its kind. There is no other similar spider.

8. Ladybug spider

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

The body of this spider looks like the body of a ladybug. Looking harmless is exactly what he wants. Prey will approach him, and before realizing what is happening, it will be within his reach.

7. Hunting spider

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Although most hunting spiders avoid humans, on rare occasions they appear and do not leave.They are not only gigantic, but also quite poisonous. Their bite will not kill a person, but it can seriously harm and cause swelling. Naturally they are native to Australia.

6. Bird droppings crab spider

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

This spider is trying to look like a big turd. In addition, it even has the ability to smell foul. This double camouflage pattern distracts predators such as birds while attracting prey such as flies at the same time.

5.Mirror spider

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Another spider, which lives up to its name, has a shiny, mirrored, multi-colored belly. Unsurprisingly, it also occurs in Australia. The cone-shaped abdomen also resembles a snail shell.

4. Eight-spotted crab spider

Photo: twitter.com

Discovered in Singapore in 1924, this spider boasts a spotted body that looks like it was created specifically for Halloween.They are very unsociable, and few of them have been seen in the wild.

3. Ogre Spider

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Not only does this nasty spider have a terribly ugly face, but it can also spin cobwebs and lash out at its enemies. That’s right, he mostly catches his prey. When the victim is in the net, the spider bites it to paralyze and then eats it.

2. Bat-eating spider

Photo: twitter.com

Spider webs are large enough to be caught by a bat, these spiders grow to a large size. How big? About the size of a bat. Bats fly into their web, get stuck in it, and then a large spider comes down and eats them.

1. Bagheera Kiplinga

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Most spiders feed on insects, except, of course, those that eat bats. But now scientists have discovered a new vegetarian spider called Bagheera Kiplinga.It feeds on acacia bushes and avoids ants in every possible way.

Spider (Araneae) belongs to the arthropod type, arachnids class, spiders order. Their first representatives appeared on the planet about 400 million years ago.

Insect Hunters

The orb-web spirals are one of the engineering wonders of nature. The diameter of the web can vary from a few centimeters to a whole meter, but all networks have a common basic structure: the “bridge” line stretched between the stems forms a triangle together with two “anchor” threads that “tie” the web to the ground.Inside the web is a series of “radii” threads, diverging from the center and forming a frame of a radial spiral, the most characteristic feature of a circular web.

It takes about an hour for a spider (or rather a spider, since males do not weave a web) to create this miracle.

The circular web of the orb weaving is a real trap for insects, which, without suspecting anything, fall into it right on the fly. The orb-web is a passive predator. He sits in the center of a shiny silky spiral and waits for the “lunch” itself to fly to him.

The orb weaver has eight eyes, providing excellent visibility, although the spider does not need to look out for prey at all. He learns about replenishing his grocery stores by vibrating the spider webs. While waiting for prey, the orb weaving clings to the web with tenacious claws, which are located at the ends of the legs. He usually sits with his head down, clinging to the non-sticky threads emanating from the center of the trapping Net.

Once caught in the web, the unlucky insect sticks to the main spiral of threads covered with a kind of “glue”.Trying to break free from the networks, the victim becomes even more entangled in the sticky mass. The spider catches the trembling of the filaments and hurries along the dry filaments to the prey.

If the spider hits the wrong thread, it will free itself, but the victim cannot get out of the sticky net.

The orb weaving is wary of insects caught in the web. If it’s a dangerous catch, like a wasp, it usually breaks the threads around it. Some orb webs are armed with thorns to protect the spiders if the victim resists. When the insect is not dangerous, the spider kills it by biting with poisonous “fangs”.

The poison not only kills, but also digests prey. The spider rarely starts eating immediately after catching the victim. First, he wraps the insect in a thread and waits. The spider feeds on liquid food and cannot chew, so it injects digestive juices into the body of a dead or dying prey. The enzymes eat away at the insect’s tissues, turning them into a thick “soup”, and the spider sucks it out.

Cunning Predator

Orb-web spiders hang their nets on insect routes – between plants where they most often fly.Usually spiders leave their lair at night, although in the fall, when females, as they say, work tirelessly to lay enough eggs, orb webs can be seen both at night and during the day. Construction begins with a single strand, a kind of “bridge”, which the spider stretches after climbing onto a branch.

If the orb-web is lucky, this thread, fluttering in the wind, will catch on the second support – the plant on the opposite side. This process is like flying a kite. The spider tries to preserve the first thread as long as possible, and he removes the rest of the web almost every day.

After that, under the “bridge” the spider attaches a second, not so tightly stretched thread and runs to the center, in order to then go down on a new thread. It turns out a U-shaped frame – the basis of the web. Two “anchors” connect the base of Y to each stem, thus forming a triangle together with the “bridge” – the outer part of the web. Then the spider begins to weave dry radial threads, diverging from the center to the edges. There are about 20 such threads.

When the work comes to an end, the spider weaves a wide auxiliary spiral from the center to the edge.It is dry silk that serves as a circular-weaving platform during the construction of a trapping spiral leading to the center. The trapping spiral has more turns than the auxiliary one, which the spider removes in the course of work.

Building a web takes about an hour, maybe two. After the spider has caught and eaten the prey, the hunter returns to his lair, hidden among the foliage. There the orb weaving sits all day until the next evening. Then the spider, or rather the spider, leaves the shelter to inspect the net. If the web cannot be repaired, the orb webs eat it, and the absorbed proteins are processed into silk, from which they weave a new web.

Some types of orb-webs add thin threads to the design, forming a zigzag pattern. They are likely to divert the attention of potential prey, which, thanks to them, does not notice the trapping net until it is too late. Uloborid spiders do not weave sticky trapping spirals. Their webs are unusually thin threads that cling to their prey like one half of the Velcro fastener to the other. In addition, the uloborids strangle the victim with a tight cocoon.

Careful courtship

Males of the orb weaving are much smaller, about 10 times, smaller than females. Adult spiders, obsessed with the goal of finding a mate, stop worrying about food. But, having found the female’s web, the spider must exercise maximum caution.

One wrong move – and the female will mistake it for prey! After mating, the male looks for a new pair, and the female is engaged in egg production. The spider lays them in a dense silk bag. The offspring of orb weaving, having overwintered in their “cocoon”, will be born in the spring.

The web has incredible elasticity. Its thread can be stretched five times without breaking!

The circular web is practically invisible, unless the sun’s rays fall on its shiny silk and illuminate an intricate spiral of threads, each of which is a fraction of a millimeter thick.

Spider silk is used for more than just weaving webs. The spider wraps its prey in a silk blanket and waits for the poison to take effect, so that it can then begin its meal.

It is said that the Carpathian peasants used pieces of cobweb as an antiseptic, treating wounds with them.Well, in the near future, spider silk may well become a fairly familiar material.

In terms of tensile strength, a spider web thread can be compared to steel, and a cloth woven from a web of orb-webs is stronger than Kevlar ™ fiber. In addition, the wetted web shrinks, so it is likely that artificial muscles can be made from it.

Scientists are working to decipher the genetic code of proteins that make up the web of the orb weaving Araneus ventricosus

to learn how to make such strong threads industrially.
10 553

• Araneus mitificus
  or
  “Pringles spider
  “

is a typical representative of the Asian fauna, distributed from India, Nepal and Bhutan to Australia. A notable feature of the spider-cross is an exact copy of the mustachioed face from the packages of “Pringles” chips, located in place of the traditional cross. These spiders hunt only from ambush, and in their nets one section is always missing, but there is a signal thread stretched into the shelter.The size of adult females is 6-9 mm, males – 3-5 mm, but the modest size does not prevent spiders from proudly wearing the “face” of popular chips.

• Araneus ceropegius
  ,
  Aculepeira ceropegia
  )

lives in thickets of shrubs and tall grass of forest edges, groves and gardens of a temperate climatic zone. Oak crosses live in Europe, Russia, in northern Africa, as well as in Asian countries north of the Himalayas, excluding the Arabian Peninsula.For females and males, the abdomen is pointed at both poles and the cephalothorax is well pubescent. The length of the female of the cross is 1.2-1.4 cm, of the male – 0.7-0.8 cm. The upper side of the brown abdomen is decorated with a light herringbone, and a yellow speck of elongated shape is located below.

• or meadow cross ( Araneus quadratus
  )

occurs in wet, open grassy areas. Lives in Europe, Central Asia, Russia, Japan.The shape, size and color is very similar to the common cross. On the upper part of the abdomen, the spider-spider has 4 round light spots or 4 dark dots, depending on the main color of the body. Below is a blurred leaf-like pattern. The main body color ranges from light green and carmine to black-brown. There may be light stripes on the legs. The length of the females is 1.7 cm, the males are half as long. Adult female cross spiders can change color and merge in color with the surrounding area.

A rare orb-web spider that lives mainly in coniferous forests in the Palaearctic region (Europe, Russia, Asia north of the Himalayas, northern Africa). The maximum body length of these spiders is 5.5 mm, the females are usually longer than males: the length of the females is 5-5.5 mm, the length of the males is 4 mm. The modest size of the cross is offset by a variety of colors. The usual color of individuals of both sexes is reddish-brown, but there are very beautiful, red-yellow-green specimens.A distinctive feature of the spider-spider of this type is “epaulettes”, dark areas in the front of the abdomen.

Typical inhabitant of humid deciduous forests of the temperate zone. Outwardly, this spider resembles a meadow spider and has 4 similar large spots on the abdomen, but differs in color, which is dominated by orange and beige tones. The abdomen of the spider is dotted with small light spots, so the spider looks like (hence its English name “strawberry spider” – strawberry spider). The females of the chilly cross grow from 7 to 13 mm, the length of the males is 5-6 mm.

A huge number of living beings accompany us in life. We love a kitten or a puppy, but a cockroach or a spider is disgusting to us, and we do not even think whether they are useful or harmful. We won’t say anything good about the cockroach, but let’s try about the spider. They live everywhere – high in the mountains, in the desert, in the forest and in the meadow, even in the water. Spiders are not found only in the permafrost of the Arctic and Antarctic. The conquerors of Everest found one of the types of spiders at an altitude of 7 km, and in the taiga there can be up to 300-350 small spiders per square meter of soil.

They have been and remain constant neighbors of man for many millennia. When man first settled in the cave, the spiders already lived there. But mostly harmless spiders cause superstitious fear in many people, the roots of which go back to ancient times.

The Apulian tarantula, thanks to a misunderstanding, even became famous throughout the world. The tarantella is named after him. This dance, widespread in southern Italy, and without which no folk festival is complete, was born in Puglia sometime between the 13th and 18th centuries A.D.e. Its appearance is associated with a method of treating a disease that has been practiced since ancient times, from which, at the height of summer, especially young guys who worked in the fields suffered.

Among the many thousands of spider species, there are only a few whose venom is dangerous to humans. For example, the outwardly scary spiders Zigella and Cyclose are actually absolutely harmless. Benefits for a person, for example, do more than harm. For example, in folk medicine, fresh cobwebs have been used since ancient times as a plaster.It stops the blood and disinfects the wound. Some tropical spiders weave webs so strong that the natives use them for fishing nets and nets. In ancient Rome, doctors often recommended that the patient wear a pouch with a spider around his neck to cure malaria and other diseases. Here is a similar recipe from a medical reference book compiled by a certain Watson back in 1750: “Carefully cover the living spider with bread crumb, but so as not to damage it, and let the patient swallow it quickly.This is a very effective medicine … ”.

Spiders are united with scorpions and ticks in the class of arachnids and belong to the type of arthropod animals like insects and crayfish. The name of the class is arachnids and refers to a type of arthropod animal like insects and crayfish. The name of the class arachnids (Arachnoidea) comes from the Greek arachne – spider. Ancient Greek myth tells of a girl named Arachne who dared to compete with the goddess Athena.

Spiders are the largest order of arachnids.More than 20,000 species have been described, and experts believe that this figure will increase significantly in the future, since the spider fauna of the globe has been studied very unevenly and incompletely. The whole land is inhabited by spiders. Like insects and ticks, they live everywhere, and there is literally no corner in nature where there would be no one or another species of spider.

To move on to a more detailed examination of spiders, let’s try to immediately understand the nature of this huge detachment and the features of its diversity. Indeed, in all the main life manifestations that support the existence of a species – obtaining food, reproducing, settling and experiencing adverse conditions – spiders use the web.A shelter and a trapping device are made from it, with its help a complex mating procedure takes place, an egg cocoon is woven from it and the young are carried by the wind, etc. adaptations that for each species correspond to its vital needs and the specific environment in which it lives. In other words, relationships with the environment are carried out in spiders through spider web activity, which, like all spider behavior, is based on instincts.A comparative study of spiders shows that the evolution of spider webs, the evolution of instincts, is the leading direction of the evolutionary development of spiders, in which this peculiar order reached an unprecedented flowering.

The nature of the variety of spiders serves as a clear confirmation. Spiderweb adaptations represent an evolutionary series of very simple to extremely complex and sophisticated, be it egg cocoons, lairs and nests, or trapping nets. At the same time, the building of cobweb devices is becoming more complex.It is remarkable that the general type of structure of the spider is steadily preserved. The sizes of spiders, color, external shape are different, the structure of individual organs changes, but all this endless variety is enclosed in the framework of a certain stereotype. A spider is always a spider. The unity is maintained in a number of peculiarities of biology, type of nutrition, individual development, etc.

The body of spiders is divided into two sections: the cephalothorax and abdomen. 4 pairs of legs are placed on the cephalothorax, and 4 pairs of eyes on top of the head.A pair of short tentacles are directed forward; in males, the ends of the tentacles are thickened.

A characteristic feature of all spiders is the ability to secrete a special liquid from the warts at the end of the abdomen, which immediately solidifies into a cobweb. The web is different depending on the purpose. Spiders make nets from it to catch prey, weave a shelter for themselves, make a cocoon to protect eggs, and use it for dispersal.

All spiders are predators, feeding mostly on insects. They get them either by trapping, or actively pursuing, or using trapping nets.The shape of the trapping nets is different for different spiders. Curved hook-shaped jaws (chelicera) are used to kill prey for spiders, with a channel inside, through which poison flows into the victim’s body. (In the middle zone of our country there are no spiders dangerous to human life, but the bite of some spiders can be very painful.)

After laying the eggs, the female either guards the cocoon with eggs sitting in the shelter, or carries it with her.

Young spiders hatched from eggs usually first stick together and then scatter.In some species, they tend to climb somewhere higher – on fences, bushes, trees. Here they release a small light cobweb, which is picked up by the wind and, together with the spider at its end, is carried away into the distance. This is how the settlement of young spiders occurs. Usually this happens in the fall, during the “Indian summer”, and then everywhere on the bushes and fences we see cobwebs shining in the sun.

Adult spiders die after the end of the breeding season.

Top 9: the most poisonous spiders in the world

Spiders began their evolutionary path 380 million years ago, and today they are vital members of the global ecosystem.However, although arachnids are the ancient inhabitants of our planet, this does not mean that some of their representatives cannot be extremely terrifying and dangerous creatures for us. Yes, many spiders are quite harmless, but some of them are worth staying away from because arthropods can be deadly poisonous. The good news is that death from a spider bite is quite rare, because they only attack people when they themselves feel driven and frightened.So while some species of spider can be deadly, they will first try to avoid encountering a large mammal like humans.

9. Yellow-sac spiders

Yellow-sac spiders are members of the Cheiracanthium family, and you can find them in one variation or another all over the world, and most often in the USA, Australia, Europe and Japan. Both males and females grow up to 1.3 cm in length and are pale yellow in color. An interesting fact about yellow bags – they like the smell of gasoline.In fact, it even forced Mazda to recall 52,000 cars in March 2011 after these spiders coiled their webs in the exhaust systems of brand new cars.

But, in addition to the fact that this arachnid did a lot of harm to one famous car company, yellow-sac spiders are also a very poisonous species. The bite of this spider is very painful and causes redness and swelling of the skin. Fortunately, these are the only consequences of the bite of this creature. Something more unpleasant can only happen if you have a rare allergy to the yellow mosum bite.

8. False Black Widow Spider

It is believed that the first false black widows came to England on ships carrying fruit in the 1870s. It is the most venomous spider in the UK, and its numbers are steadily growing due to climatic changes in nature. Bites manifest themselves in different ways. But the first sign can be considered a swelling of the bitten area up to the size of a tennis ball.

Professional soccer player James Gray was bitten in the right hand by a false black widow in March 2020.According to the athlete, at first he did not attach importance to a slight reddening of the skin. James felt a little weak, but considered it a consequence of strenuous training. The man found out about the bite only after being examined by the doctor of his team a few days later. By that time, the infection had spread, and the player had to be hospitalized. An operation was performed, and the infected area had to be excised. As a result, a real hole appeared in Gray’s hand at the site of the bite. The athlete had to go to the bench for a whole month until he finally recovered.

To date, only one death is known, allegedly associated with the bite of a false black widow. In 2014, Pat Gough-Irwin died a month after being bitten by a spider. But so far, these are only unconfirmed assumptions of the relatives of the 60-year-old deceased, who lived her last weeks in inexplicable torment. According to experts, there is nothing in the poison of a false black widow that is so toxic that a person could die from its bite.

7. Brown recluse spider

When you meet it, you will definitely understand that it is a recluse spider thanks to the violin-shaped mark right on top of this arthropod’s cephalothorax.We were not mistaken, namely the cephalothorax, because in hermit spiders these two body parts are anatomically fused. It is for the speck in the shape of a violin that these brown spiders are sometimes called violinists. But what makes this species especially stand out is that they only have 6 eyes instead of 8 like most other spiders.

These arachnids live only in the central and southeastern United States. They are very small, but don’t let their size reassure you, because the bite of a recluse spider can be very strong.Fortunately, 90% of bites do not require medical attention and leave almost no marks. But 10% of people who are sensitive to the venom of this particular genus of spiders will tell you a lot of pleasant things about their feelings from meeting a brown arthropod. First, a white blister swells around the bite, and the tissues can become very dense and tight. Then the area of ​​the bite turns gray-blue or white-blue color and cracks. The skin around the lesion is very red.

But even worse, the bite site can literally begin to burst and ooze.This happens if the skin around the bite begins to die off and an open wound appears. Such skin lesions can extend to an entire limb. It usually takes about 8 weeks to heal such wounds, which is actually a long time for any disease. And in practice, the fight against the consequences of such a bite may seem like a real eternity.

Fortunately, bites from a brown recluse spider have rarely been fatal. Only 2 cases of fatal outcome are known in the period from 2004 to 2014.

6. Australian Widow

The Australian Widow is a close relative of the Black Widow, and this is noticeable by a similar spot on their cephalothorax. But the spider, ranked sixth in our rating, lives only in Australia, and it is recognizable by its red spot. The red spot is much darker on the body of the females. These are medium-sized spiders, and to understand what size we are talking about, imagine a large pea.

Fortunately, most Australian widow bites do not pose a serious threat.Only 250 bites a year require the use of antivenom. The person who is bitten will usually sweat profusely, feel nauseous, and experience muscle weakness. All these fearless symptoms became extremely intolerable for a man who was bitten by a spider on the genitals right in a public toilet in April 2016. After only a few hours of panic and horror, the victim was discharged from the hospital and released home.

Since the antidote was introduced in 1956, only one death has been reported, presumably caused by an Australian widow bite.It is also the only spiderbite death in Australia since 1979. In April 2016, 22-year-old Jayden Burleigh was bitten by a spider in the armpit of his left arm. The guy was hospitalized for 4 days, and he was regularly injected with antibiotics. After another 3 days after being discharged from the hospital, Jaden died suddenly, so it still remains unknown what caused the death of the unfortunate.

5. Brazilian Wandering Spider

There are 8 different types of Brazilian Wandering Spider, and as you might have guessed, they all live in Brazil.Only a few species have been seen in Latin America. The length of their body reaches 5 cm, and together with the length of the legs and all 15 cm.

The wandering spider differs from all other arachnids in that it does not lure the victim into its nets. Instead, Brazilian spiders spend most of their day in cool crevices. At nightfall, they hunt right on the ground in dense forests. Wandering spiders either wait in ambush for their prey or attack directly, making these spiders the most aggressive in the world.

However, they are not aggressive towards humans. In fact, not a single spider from this rating will attack a person without a good reason. In most cases, people get bitten because arthropods suddenly feel trapped and nervous when they meet a person. Therefore, you should not bother or scare the Brazilian wandering spider.

After a bite, a person may feel a burning sensation in the area of ​​damage to the skin along with chills and sweating.After 30 minutes, your blood pressure rises or falls, and your heart rate either increases or slows down. Nausea, abdominal cramps, blurred vision, hypothermia and dizziness are also symptoms of wandering spider venom.

Another unusual and very unpleasant side effect when a spider bites a man is a long and very painful erection that can last for several hours. So one day the news tabloids in England filled with the terrible news about the torment of a man who was bitten by a spider that crawled out of a box with imported bananas.

The good news is that in most cases the Brazilian wandering spider does not release enough venom to cause serious harm. According to a 2008 study, it was found that of all reported bites, only 2.6% of cases required the use of antivenom. Nevertheless, medical examination is still an important measure to prevent irreversible consequences. There are 10 known deaths in history from the bite of this spider.

4.Black widow spider

One of the most famous spiders in the world is the black widow. This species lives in temperate climates, dark and dry places almost all over the world, but is most often found in the United States, South America, Africa, southern Europe, Asia and Australia.

Black widow females stand out the most for a variety of reasons. First, they are twice as large as males and reach up to 4 cm in length, excluding the legs. Secondly, the most famous and notable feature itself is the red hourglass-shaped mark located directly on the rounded abdomen of the arthropod.These individuals received their famous name because, after mating, the females eat their partners.

Most often, people bitten by a black widow do not experience any serious health problems. However, according to reports from the National Geographic scientific community, the venom of a black widow is 15 times stronger than that of a rattlesnake. Therefore, if, when bitten, this arachnid injects a sufficient amount of poison, the victim can have very serious problems.

So, what awaits the bitten one? At first, the person will feel a sharp pain in the area of ​​the bite, just like a pinprick.The skin in this place will turn red and begin to swell. Then after about 15 minutes, the pain will spread throughout the body, especially in the chest and abdomen. Then, cramps will begin in these parts of the body due to violent muscle spasms. This can lead to difficulty breathing and paralysis of the diaphragm.

Black widow venom is rarely fatal to a healthy adult, there is only a 1% chance that the bite will be fatal. But these spiders pose a real danger to the elderly, sick and children, whose immunity and resistance are much lower.

3. Brown Black Widow

As you might have guessed from the species name, the brown black widow is a close relative of the common black widow. This spider is gray to dark brown in color, while the common widow spider is brown to black. These spiders also have an hourglass-shaped mark on the abdomen. In size, brown widows are as average as black widows, and they live mainly in tropical areas. However, since 2003, their numbers have increased significantly, and spiders have had to migrate to neighboring lands with less hot climates.Representatives of this genus usually hide in hard-to-reach and deserted places.

The venom of a brown black widow is more toxic than the venom of an ordinary black widow, but these spiders do not inject as much toxic saliva as their closest relative. They are less aggressive. For the same reason, the chances of being bitten by a brown widow are much less. However, when they do bite, it actually hurts. One person said that after being bitten in the neck, 10 minutes later, he felt as if he had been hit with a sledgehammer.Symptoms begin with redness and swelling. This is followed by convulsions and spasms, which can last for several hours. Fortunately, no deaths from the bite of the brown black widow have yet been reported.

2. Sydney funnel web spider

There are 43 different types of funnel web spiders, and they are all from Australia. These spiders got their unusual name for the distinctive yarn style of their trapping nets. The spiders find damp areas of soil and weave horizontal nets above them with a funnel in the center, along which they can descend into the ground or into other shelter.The spider waits for the victim in its shelter until the prey gets caught in the web. As soon as the prey is caught in the net, the arthropod predator jumps out of the ambush and drags the prey down.

One of the most dangerous funnel web spiders is the Sydney orb weaving, especially its males. They live in the area of ​​the Australian capital within a radius of 100 km. These arachnids grow to a medium size (1 – 5 cm in length). However, in an Australian reptile park, a spider with a length of 10 cm was once discovered.He was symbolically nicknamed the big man.What is most dangerous in large representatives of this species is that the larger they are, the more poison they can produce. And the poison of the Sydney orb weaving is one of the most dangerous in the world. If such a spider bites you in the neck, you will die in 15 minutes. But more often than not, people are bitten on the hands and feet, which is much safer.

The venom of the male funnel web contains a polypeptide called robustoxin, which attacks the nervous system of humans and primates, but does almost no harm to other mammals.The first thing that you will feel from the bite is unbearable pain. The Sydney orb weaving has long fangs and its venom is highly acidic. After a bite, a person may begin to salivate due to numbness of the lips and active work of the glands. Eyes are very watery. Breathing problems soon appear, followed by loss of consciousness.

The good news is that there is an antidote developed in 1981 and since then no one has died from a Sydney orb weaving bite.Until then, the funnel spider was officially responsible for 13 deaths.

1. Six-eyed sand spider

The six-eyed sand spider is a relative of the hermit spider, but lives only in the deserts of South Africa. This is a medium sized spider (0.7 – 1.5 cm), and it is covered with small hairs, also called bristles. The bristles pick up the sand crumbs, and thus the spider camouflages itself to the environment. In addition to this tricky skill, six-eyed spiders burrow themselves in the sand on their own.When the prey is close enough, the arthropod predator suddenly attacks it from its hiding place.

No one really knows what will happen if someone is bitten by a six-eyed sandpiper. There are only 2 known deaths, presumably caused by the bite of this arthropod. But the sand spider’s guilt has not been confirmed.

Laboratory studies have shown that the poison of the six-eyed sandpiper is extremely dangerous due to a substance called cryotoxin. According to the theory, once this toxin enters the body, it immediately begins to destroy tissues and organs.The action of the poisonous substance can be compared to sulfuric acid, which eats away at the flesh, creating terrible wounds. Shortly after the bite, severe hemorrhage begins and the toxin reaches the liver and kidneys, leading to certain death.

At the moment, there is no antidote for the bite of this arthropod. Fortunately, the six-eyed sand spider is very shy. But it’s still better to stay away from its habitat so as not to become a model of what the bite of this arachnid can do to human flesh.

Family of orb-web spiders (Araneidae)

Spiders with a thick abdomen significantly exceeding the thickness and width of the cephalothorax. The legs are short and thick, adapted for sliding on cobwebs.

They move slowly, in case of danger they often fall to the ground. The fishing net is wheel-shaped, with a net filled in the middle. Spiders sit either on a trapping net or nearby in a shelter.

Typical representatives are cross spiders (Araneus), of which there are about 20 species in the middle zone of the European part of Russia.We stumble upon their net on paths of gardens, parks and forests in July – August. Most often they belong to females. We provide a description of the most common and common species of females.

Four-spotted cross (Araneus quadratus)

Similar in size and general color background to the two previous species. The abdomen is spherical, in the anterior part with four rounded light spots or with four dark dots on a light background. The leaf-like pattern in the posterior part of the abdomen is blurred.

Occurs in open humid places: in meadows, swamps with high herbaceous vegetation, along river banks.The trapping net has 20 – 28 radii. The spider sits in a shelter to the side of the net, where the signal thread leads.

Widely distributed throughout Russia.

Types of spiders, names and photos

Scientists have described more than 42,000 species of spiders. About 2900 species are known on the territory of the CIS countries. Consider several varieties:

• Blue-green tarantula ( Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens
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one of the most spectacular and beautiful spiders in color.The abdomen of the tarantula is red-orange, the limbs are bright blue, the carapace is green. The dimensions of the tarantula are 6-7 cm, with a leg span of up to 15 cm. The spider is native to Venezuela, but this spider is found in Asian countries and on the African continent. Despite belonging to tarantulas, this type of spider does not bite, but only throws special hairs located on the abdomen, and even then in case of severe danger. For humans, the hairs are not dangerous, but they cause minor burns on the skin, similar in effect to a nettle burn.Surprisingly, female chromatopelms are long-livers compared to males: the life span of a female spider is 10-12 years, while males live only 2-3 years.

• Flower spider ( Misumena vatia
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belongs to the family of sidewalk spiders (Thomisidae). The color varies from completely white to bright lemon, pink or greenish. Male spiders are small, 4-5 mm long, females reach sizes of 1-1.