Spiders are full of nightmares. But they can also be very fascinating. When talking about these creatures, people get mixed feelings about them. Some find them as delightful pets. However, others are terrified of them. There are more than 45,000 known species of spiders all around the world. Only a few of which should be feared such as the Black Widow Spider and the Brown Recluse Spider. The rest is harmless and peaceful.
According to research, you are never more than 10 feet away from a spider. They can live everywhere. Spiders are one of the most diverse members of the animal kingdom. They are also one of the oldest. Fossils indicate that spiders have been around for more than 400 million years.
Spiders are the largest order in a group called arachnids which includes scorpions and mites. They generally have four pairs of jointed legs and eight eyes. They do not have antennae which distinguishes them from insects. Spiders have segmented bodies covered in hair. The front part is called the cephalothorax and the back part is the abdomen. The smaller legs in front are called pedipalps. At the end of the abdomen, they have spinnerets which they use to produce silk. The spider silk is very strong and used in a variety of ways. Spiders can use it for making a web, wrapping prey, and for protecting their eggs.
Most spiders spin webs to catch their prey which includes small insects. They do not have jaws to chew on solid food. Instead, they have chelicerae which are small fangs. They use these to inject venom into their prey and liquefy them to facilitate feeding. The smaller spiders are harmless to humans since their fangs are so small it does not penetrate the skin.
Habitat
Spiders can live in a variety of habitats. They are very adaptable and can survive in hot, cool, dry, or wet environments. However, spiders cannot survive in the extreme cold of Antarctica.
Inside the house, spiders can be found in cluttered areas like the basement, crawl spaces, under the sink or inside the closet.
In the garden, spiders can be very beneficial. They are one of the most important creatures in the ecosystem. They maintain the balance of the population of smaller insects such as cockroaches, mosquitoes, even mice and rats.
Mating & Reproduction
Spiders have a strange mating process. The male spider delivers the sperm to a location. The female will then insert it into her body. To make this stranger, for some species, the female will consume the male after mating.
Spiders have three life stages: egg, spiderling, and adult. The female spider can lay as 3,000 eggs at once. The eggs are then covered in a silk sac that serves as a protection. Some species carry the sac with them while others leave them in their webs. The eggs hatch into spiderlings which are smaller versions of the adults. The adult spider can live from four months to two years depending on the species.
Facts About Spiders
Almost all spiders are predators. While some take a sip of nectar as a supplement to their diet, this occurs rarely. Only one species of spider was identified as a true vegetarian. The Bagheera kiplingi is a jumping spider indigenous in Latin America. This spider steals food from ants that live in acacia trees. It eats nutritious nodules called “beltian bodies” that grow the leaves of the acacia tree.
The largest species of spider (based on leg span) is the Goliath Bird Eating Spider. It is found in the coastal rainforests of Surinam, Guyana, and French Guiana. But some specimens have been reported from Venezuela and Brazil. The Guinness Book of World Record recorded the largest spider in April 1965. It has a leg span of 28 centimeters or 11 inches.
The smallest spider is endemic to Colombia. The male Patu digua spider’s body grows to about 0.37 millimeters or roughly the size of the head of a pin.
The spider silk is liquid. When it comes in contact with the air, it hardens forming strings. Spider silk is also considered the strongest material on earth. It is said to be 8 times stronger than the steel. People don’t realize this because the webs we see are very thin. But spider silk as thick as a pencil can stop an airplane in mid-air. Even with the technology we have, scientists are unable to recreate the spider's silk.
Spiders need eight eyes to help them move around because they do not have a good sense of balance. They are also nearsighted.
Spider webs are so sticky that it is hard to keep dust and pollen out. This is why it constantly needs to be remade. When making a new web, the spider rolls the old one up first into a ball. Some species even eat their balled up web before creating a new one.
Dangerous Spiders
Only a few people become seriously ill from spider bites. But the media creates a frenzy among people making us fear all of them. If you want to know which spiders can harm you, here are 5 of the most dangerous spiders in the world.
The Brown Recluse Spider
It is predominant in the Midwest and Southeast of the United States. This spider has a violin-shaped mark on its topmost leg which gave it the name Fiddle Black. While most spiders have eight eyes, the brown recluse only has six. They move slower than most spiders and dwell in dim areas.
When there is a medical complication, a Brown Recluse Spider’s bite can cause anemia, blood-clotting problems, and kidney failure. In extreme instances, the Fiddle Black’s bite can cause necrosis which causes the skin and tissues to tear down. Luckily, not all bites from this spider are lethal. Some can lead to milder skin reactions and some even do not show any symptoms. This is one of the many reasons people call the exterminators for spiders to ensure that their homes are free from an infestation that could put their lives at risk.
The Black Widow Spider
This spider is distinguished by its shiny black color with yellow and orange hourglass marks in the underside of their abdomen. They dwell under piles of wood and rubble or inside hollows tree stumps and stones. If you see this type of spider at home, call an exterminator for spiders. Do not engage on your own as they can be lethal when provoked.
The toxin secretes to the bloodstream when the spider bites immediately affect the nervous system. This can lead to nausea, abdominal pain, headache, fever, hypertension, muscle pains, vomiting, difficulty breathing, excessive sweating, rashes, itching, swollen eyelids, and tremors. Approximately 5% of all reported bites have led to death. Its toxin is found to be 15 times stronger than that of the rattlesnake venom.
Red Widow Spider
This spider is distinguished by the yellow line on its borders. It has a black abdomen with red spots. This specie does not normally attack people or animals unless they are provoked or agitated. They dwell on Rosemary plants, palmettos, scrub oaks, and other shrubs.
Male Red Widow Spiders do not bite. Only the females do. Their bites secrete a toxin in the bloodstream that causes muscle spasms. If the bite is not treated immediately, it could affect the nervous system and cause paralysis. The worst part is, these muscle spasms caused by its bite can be permanent.
The Wolf Spider
This spider is usually brown or gray with stripe-like markings on their backs. They earned the name wolf spider because they were earlier believed to hunt in groups. This type of spider does not spin webs. Instead, it sleeps during the day and it actively hunts its prey in the night. They eat small insects but can prey on lizards and frogs.
Did you know that Wolf Spiders display motherly instincts to their offspring? The females carry the egg sac until the young spiders are ready to hunt on their own. Wolf spiders are one of the most feared spider species. However, its venom is not as lethal as most people think. At most, it can only cause severe allergic reactions.
Tarantula
This species of spider is among the biggest. They can grow up to 7 to 10 cm in length. But some can exceed up to 30 cm. The tarantula’s diet includes smaller insects, cockroaches, grasshoppers, rodents, frogs, snakes, and bats.
The tarantula's body is covered in thick hair that makes them stand out from other spiders. They are usually brown or black. But their hair comes in various colors including metallic blue, metallic green, gold, and bright red. This makes them interesting to collectors.
All tarantulas are poisonous. Their bites can cause swelling, pain, and redness. In the worst cases, it can lead to fever, allergic reactions, and mild muscle spasms to other people. However, to this day there are no recorded deaths due to tarantula bites. Aside from its bite, the tarantula can use its hair as a defense. When threatened, it flings its hairs at predators which can cause severe skin irritation.
Best Strategies Of Deterring Spiders
Seeing that there are spiders that can cause harm, we have to take precautions in preventing their infestation at home. One of the best strategies of deterring spiders is calling a professional such as Go-Forth Home Services. This company offers high-quality services for extermination and prevention. With their help, you can achieve a pest-free environment.