Spiders exist on the planet for more than 380 million years and are an important component of the ecosystem for any climate zone. There are many types of spiders, some are absolutely harmless, others carry a mortal danger to others. One such creature is the black widow spider. The only good news is that few deaths from the bites of these animals have been recorded, since they prefer to flee rather than bite an opponent.
Blue blood
In spiders of this species, like scorpions, the blood has a blue color, and arterial in general is blue. This happens against the background of the fact that instead of hemoglobin in the body of arthropods is hemocyanin, which instead of iron contains copper, which gives such shades.
general characteristics
This is an arthropod animal. Widely distributed in North America. Oceania and Australia, other regions would never have known about the existence of such a spider if it had not been brought there by chance with goods, fruits and vegetables.
They also say about the black widow spider - karakurt. And this is the biological designation of this species. And the spider got the “folk” name because after mating the female instantly deals with her boyfriend by killing and eating. Although, according to the observations of biologists, this does not always happen.
When asked what a black widow spider looks like, it is very simple to answer - like most other arthropods. It has 8 long legs. The spider is small in size, about 38 millimeters in length, legs up to 12 mm. They live no more than 3 years, an average of 24 months.
Females are much larger than males and much brighter in color. Females have red marks on their stomachs, very similar to an hourglass, themselves black. The males are somewhat paler, and the marks are orange or yellow. Until the spider reaches puberty, the spots on the body have a white border.
The spider has strong paws, very similar to ridges, with bristles. It is they who allow you to tighten the web over the caught victim.
The visual organs of the spider are arranged in two rows, in each of which as many as 4 eyes. At the same time, the spider sees very poorly, the side eyes can only distinguish between movement and light. Therefore, arthropods in the process of hunting are guided only by vibrations that come from the web into which the victim fell.
A karakurt bite is about 15 times more poisonous than a rattlesnake bite.
Species diversity
Depending on the area where the black widow spider lives, subspecies are also distinguished. Today 31 species are known, although in general they are very similar in appearance. In particular, northern, western and black species are distinguished. There is a brown and red widow.
What eats
Like most arthropods, this predator eats other species of spiders, small insects that enter the web. It can be flies and mosquitoes, caterpillars and small bugs.
As a rule, the female hangs upside down, boldly showing its bright marks, however, the prey is rarely afraid of the toxicity of the spider.
As soon as the victim is in the web, the karakurt wraps it with threads and pierces it with its chelicera. The spider’s teeth contain digestive enzymes that dissolve the insect. Now you can start the meal and suck out all the liquid.
Another interesting feature common to most spiders: a black widow for a long time can do without food. Cases of "starvation" up to 1 year are known.
Life cycle
Mating animals occurs mainly at the end of spring, but largely depends on the region of habitat. Then the female lays eggs on the web in a gray silk ball. Balls can be from 5 to 15 pieces, each has an average of 700 eggs. After 15-30 days small individuals appear, but only a few survive to adulthood. The spider is a cannibal and, due to its excellent nutritional qualities, eats its own children.
They mature for 3 months. During this period, they molt several times, first change the white color to orange and finally to black. After growing up, they leave the web and weave their own in a new place.
Closer to fall, if the female is already young, she dies, rarely any of this species of spiders lives more than one year. Males are even less fortunate; their life path ends about the second month after gaining puberty.
Where does he live
Most of these spiders live in hot countries. They are found in the Caucasus and Central Asia, in Ukraine. For the house, cracks in stones and walls, minks of small rodents, steppes and salt marsh heaths are chosen, sometimes they even settle on arable land. Spiders can be found in courtyards.
These animals do not like bushes and dense grassy meadows and deserts.
You can find nests on grass stems closer to the ground. This place is preferred by spiders, here they put a hunting net and lay eggs.
Black widow spider in Russia
Despite the fact that the vastness of Russia can not boast of an abundance of solar heat, recently there have been recorded numerous cases of human bites by karakurt.
In 2015 alone, 20 cases were recorded. Some of the victims were in intensive care. Moreover, people suffered not only in the southern regions, but also in the Novosibirsk and Moscow regions. And all this happens against the background of a steady increase in temperature, spiders flee from the heat from the Central Asian steppes.
Currently, a huge number of spiders are recorded in the Volgograd region. There are still a lot of them on the Black Sea coast, especially in Crimea.
Bite cases are recorded in the Saratov and Orenburg regions, in the Urals.
Despite the terrible statistics, people do not die so often from the bites of this predator, especially in our country. At risk are sick people, children and the elderly, that is, those who have a weakened or incomplete immune system.
Symptoms after a bite
The venom of a black widow spider is deadly to humans. However, a spider never attacks a person unless they step on it. If you do not ask for help, then inevitably there will be a fatal outcome in 2 days.
Immediately after contact with the spider, nothing happens. After 15 minutes, the victim begins to feel pain in the lower back, chest and abdomen. Then there are difficulties with breathing, cramps. Body temperature and blood pressure may increase.
In case of a bite, it is recommended to burn this place with a burning match in order to try to destroy the poison. But this will help if measures are taken within 2 minutes from the moment of contact with the animal. Further urgent hospitalization is required.
If medical care is provided in a timely manner, then full recovery occurs in a couple of weeks.
House maintenance
In pursuit of exoticism, many people forget about their safety and start a black widow as a spider's pet. By and large, no special conditions are required for the maintenance of this arthropod creature: put in a terrarium and do not forget to feed. If the spider escapes, then catching it even in a small apartment will be quite problematic. Also, you should not hope that you can see the whole life cycle. They breed in captivity very rarely.
Rules of conduct in nature
Probably, once again you should not make a description of the black widow spider, most likely that everyone who sees it will recognize it. In order not to become a victim of a predator, it is better to choose a parking place where there are no animal minks, where there is high vegetation, that is, sites unsuitable for spiders to live. Do not sleep on the open ground and walk barefoot in places where there is a web.
When collecting brushwood and flowers, it is better to wear gloves and boots. If there are stones in the district, then you should not touch them with your bare hands, turn them over. Before going to bed in a tent, it is better to shake all things and bedding well.
The same rules apply for those who like to work in the garden: getting rid of weeds is better to wear gloves and not leave shoes between the garden beds.
False widow
In the scientific sources of this spider called steatode. Indeed, the two types of arthropods have a huge external similarity, but the false widow does not have a distinctive feature of black - red markings and has a slightly lighter color.
The distribution area is warm countries, it was recently introduced to the European continent, in particular to England, from where the fame of this animal came. In the XIX century, the steatode in England was recognized as the most poisonous arthropod. Although it is known for certain that after a bite a person will observe a certain malaise for only a few days. At the site of the bite, irritation and swelling may appear, reaching the size of a billiard ball. However, not a single fatal outcome after contact with a false widow has been recorded.
