Spiders of Russia differ in considerable variety. These are knitters, horses, crosses, tarantulas and many other common species. Fortunately, poisonous among them are very rare. But still, every time at the sight of a small, and sometimes not very, predator, many instinctively grab onto the slippers. So how true are our fears? Perhaps it will be better to become more familiar with some types of spiders that are found in our country. And draw conclusions ourselves.
House spider
We have such spiders everywhere. In almost every region, in every corner of the country, this species is found. The name of the house spider was given to him by chance. The thing is that they prefer to settle in residential premises, and practically live with us side by side. As a rule, this species places its web in secluded corners where it will not be noticed and swept away: behind cabinets, bedside tables, in dark corners. The web, which sometimes hangs from the ceiling, belongs to their authorship. In structure, the hunting web of a house spider resembles a funnel. They are frequent and quite durable, and in the middle they have a recess, a kind of mink, which is home to the spider. There he rests, waiting for some insect to get entangled in a web. As for his building abilities, a small house spider will rebuild a new network in just a day, if you brush away the old broom. Sometimes representatives of this species can grow quite large - up to 20 mm without taking into account the length of the legs. This happens when there are a lot of insects, flies, mosquitoes in the house, which means a large amount of food for an eight-legged predator. But the usual size of a house spider does not exceed 10 mm.
It is noticed that with the sounds of music such spiders get out of the houses and begin to "dance" on the threads of the web. No, this is not due to their musical taste. The thing is that the sounds make the hunting net hesitate, and the predator decides that someone has got into it. When it turns out that the cobweb is empty, the spider tries to shake the phantom insect from it in this way.
Previously, according to the behavior of house spiders, people predicted the weather, because these insects are surprisingly sensitive to the slightest changes. Our ancestors fully trusted them, they were never mistaken. It is not known how, but the spider knows when it will rain and when it will be clear. Before cloudy weather, he climbs into his mink and sits there without a hitch. In the second case, on the contrary, it goes out and goes about its business - it expands and strengthens its web, drags cocoons.
Serebryanka
These are widespread water spiders in Russia, which are found mainly in the European part of our country. By way of life, silverfish is unique. This is the only species of spiders that has managed to adapt to life in the water. The main habitats of this species are standing water bodies, but it is also found in those where a weak current is present. For swimming, the spider uses all the limbs, in addition, during evolution, this spider acquired an extension on its hind legs, which acts on the principle of oars. The whole body of silverfish, especially the abdomen, is covered with small hairs. Air bubbles stick to them when immersed in water, so the spider seems silvery. Hence the name. This is the only spider that can be under water for a very long time. Serebryanka builds an air dome there, sticking it to some plant or snag. There, the predator rests, breathes and eats insects caught under water. In order to build such a dome, he first needs to weave a web of the corresponding shape, and then patiently fill it with air bubbles. For large spiders, the size of the balloon may be the size of a hazelnut. Like most congeners, silverfish throws a fishing net, but he does it under water. Also, like other spiders, it entangles caught prey with a cocoon from the web.
Interestingly, in silverfish, males are significantly larger than females. (15mm and 11mm, respectively) For most species, the opposite is true. Cannibalism, which is often found in other spiders, is not common in this species. Females and males are safely building their houses nearby. As for the offspring, small spiders are hatched under water under the supervision of a mother, and at first they live in an airy cocoon.
A curious way of wintering silverfish. With the approach of cold weather, spiders look for an empty shell and fill it with air to float to the surface of the water. There they attach the shell to the duckweed and securely seal the course with pieces of plants. It is known that in autumn the duckweed sinks to the bottom, and with it the winter "house" of the spider. In spring, the plant again appears on the surface, raising the shell with it. In winter, silverfish is in hibernation, akin to suspended animation: breathing slows down, limbs still freeze. In this state, he does not need much air, and the spider can survive to the thaw.
South Russian Tarantula
Such spiders in Russia are not found everywhere. The habitat of the tarantula fluctuates on the border of the southern, hot areas. They are also found in Central Asia. The South Russian tarantula lives mainly in arid places: steppes, deserts and semi-deserts. Usually the tarantula has a reddish color, but the color may vary to brown depending on the living conditions. He does not weave a web, like other spiders. In hunting, this species relies on the speed of its reaction. Tarantulas build small minks in the ground or sand, in which they sit waiting for prey. When someone tries to look into a hole or walks nearby, a predator pops up and pounces on an uninvited guest. Knowing this feature, people came up with an interesting way to catch tarantulas. In an ambush to a spider, a wax or plasticine ball tied to a string is lowered. Having attacked a fraudulent prey, the insect binds its paws in it, after which it can be freely released into the light. But teasing a tarantula is strictly not recommended. Large, especially females (up to 4 centimeters excluding legs), these spiders can bounce and well bite the irritant. Not only is the bite very painful (comparable to a bee sting, both in appearance and in sensation), it can also cause a dangerous allergic reaction. Although in itself the poison of this type of spider is not fatal to humans. Until now, there have been no recorded deaths from a bite.
The name "tarantula" came from a medieval city in Italy - Tarantos. There were many spiders similar to our species, but more poisonous and larger. In former times, it was believed that from the bite of a given spider, a person risks losing his mind. And only the execution of a crazy dance, tarantella can save. And most of all, people from Taranta were skillful in performing this dance.
South Russian tarantula is characterized by cannibalism. Because of this, males rarely survive until winter, while females can live for several years.
Karakurt
The poisonous spiders of Russia do not have such a huge variety of species as in hotter countries, but we also have very scary representatives. These include the most dangerous karakurt. This spider is one of the most poisonous not only in our country, but also abroad. His closest relative is the Black Widow, who brings such horror to the inhabitants of America. But the poison of our spider is even stronger. Karakurt is found in warm areas in the south of the country, in the North Caucasus, in Astrakhan and the Orenburg region. But in particularly hot years, cases of the appearance of such spiders were recorded even in the suburbs. Females of this predator can reach 20mm in length without taking into account the length of the paws. They are considered the main threat to humans, because small males in most cases are not able to bite through our skin. The body color of this spider is black, the abdomen is very large and there may be as many bright spots of red or orange on it. But there are spiders without these warning signs. The main sign by which karakurt can be identified is on the underside of its abdomen. There is a pale figure resembling an hourglass (it can also be painted in a bright color, like spots on top).
The female Karakurt poses a particular danger during breeding - from the beginning of July to the end of September. At this time, spiders migrate en masse. In search of shelter, they often crawl into a person’s house. And then they may find themselves, for example, under clothes, where they can be accidentally crushed or in a panic, and then troubles can not be avoided. The bite itself is not very painful, it resembles a needle prick. But the consequences are much worse: first, acute pain in the place where the bite was, then in the muscles, especially the abdomen and chest, numbness of the extremities, vomiting reflex. If nothing is done, then the victim will experience clouding of consciousness, coma and death. Fortunately, there is a serum against a bite of a karakurt. It is also recommended to immediately burn a bite with a match. Exposure to heat will destroy most of the dangerous poison and prevent it from seeping into the blood. Russian spiders are mostly harmless, but in no case should you be frivolous if you notice characteristic signs of a karakurt in an insect.
