The South Russian tarantula, or misgir - a large poisonous spider belonging to the family of wolf spiders. It is common in southern Russia and Central Asia. It lives in the steppe, forest-steppe and desert zones, preferring moist soils with a high occurrence of groundwater.
The length of his hairy body can reach 35 mm. The hairs perform a tactile function. Its color depends on the habitat and can be light red, brown-red, black-brown and almost black.
The body of the spider consists of a small cephalothorax connected by a thin constriction with a rather large abdomen. On the cephalothorax are several eyes, a pair of jawbones (used to hold and kill prey) and a pair of tentacles (serving as the organ of touch). In addition, there is also an almost black “hat”, which differs from the rest of the family in the South Russian tarantula. The photo shows him well.
This spider has 4 pairs of walking legs. On his abdomen are arachnoid warts. The fluid released from these warts instantly hardens in the air and turns into a spider thread. He also has poisonous glands. Poison flows into the victim’s body through ducts in the claws of the jaw. These spiders are dioecious, with males being smaller than females.
The South Russian tarantula does not weave hunting nets, it uses a web to paste over the walls of its home, build an egg cocoon and to overcome obstacles. It is thanks to the web that the tarantula is able to get out of the glass jar. He hunts mainly at night and not far from the mink. If during the day a random insect enters the spider's home, then he does not refuse an unexpected lunch. The South Russian tarantula spider responds to a shadow that appears near the mink. He believes that this is some kind of insect, and therefore pops up in the hope of catching it. If you tie some object to the thread and create a semblance of movement near the mink, then the South Russian tarantula can be lured out of the dwelling.
Spiders mate in August. Males do not survive the winter after this procedure, they die. Copulating females and young growth remain overwintering, which climb into the deep minks dug by them and seal the entrance to them with earth. At the beginning of next summer, the female lays eggs, wrapping them in a web. She wears the resulting cocoon on herself, supporting her hind limbs.
The spiders that emerged from the eggs hold on to the abdomen of the mother for some time. The female heads to the water to get drunk and water the young. Drunk, the spider moves in open areas and drops spiders in different places, settling them in this way. Young individuals first seek shelter and later dig minks.
The South Russian tarantula rarely bites people, only for self-defense. It happens that a spider that gets into a tent (home) crawls through a sleeping person. The man, feeling tickling, languidly tries to remove from himself a source that violates sleep. A spider can count this movement as a threat and bite a sleeping person. Therefore, being in nature, before going to bed, it is necessary to shake out all things and tightly close the entrance to the tent.
Misgir bite is rather painful, but not fatal. Causes swelling and redness. The bite site should be burned with a match as soon as possible, because high temperature contributes to the decay of the injected poison. This method is applicable for bites of all poisonous spiders.
