Why is a tarantula dangerous for humans? Tarantula is a large poisonous spider. What measures can you take if you are bitten by a tarantula?

Tarantula is a genus of araneomorphic spiders belonging to the wolf spider family. They live mainly in arid areas such as steppes and deserts. During the day they hide in holes, and at night they go out hunting. Spiders scour the ground in search of insects. Tarantulas, unlike many other species, do not weave webs, but use the web only to strengthen their homes.

There are more than two hundred species of tarantulas in the world, inhabiting temperate and tropical climate. Some of them live in Russia.

Etymology of the name

This name comes from one of the varieties of spiders that live near the city of Taranto. According to local residents fifteenth century, spiders were the cause of the disease, called "Tarantism". According to legend, the bite of this spider infected an unusual disease that led to inevitable death, and the only possible way to heal there was a special, very energetic dance - the tarantella (known to this day). It was common to think that dance should draw all the strength out of the “patient” along with the disease.

Description of appearance

Tarantulas have a double, shaggy body and two pairs of four paws. It consists of two parts - the cephalothorax and abdomen. The spider's head has eight eyes that allow it to look around 360 degrees. Almost all subspecies are black or brown in color (there are bright exceptions).

American tarantulas are much larger than other species, they can reach ten centimeters, with a paw span of up to thirty centimeters. Tarantulas, which lived much shorter in Europe, rarely reach five centimeters. Males are smaller than females.

Many tarantulas are confused with other large spiders, for example, tarantulas (most people consider them to be tarantulas). This opinion is fundamentally incorrect, since the tarantula belongs to mygalomorphic spiders. Over time, the error became entrenched in society and culture.

The appearance of these beauties can be appreciated in the photo.

Lifestyle

The spider spends most of its time in a hole dug by its own efforts. Tarantula burrows can reach 25 centimeters deep. Inside each burrow, a wall of leaves and cobwebs is cultivated. To protect itself from rain or before the onset of winter, the spider goes even deeper and closes its “hut” with web and earth.

The tarantula is a predator, and therefore is often in search of prey. Spiders hunt mainly at night, sometimes during the day, waiting for prey near their home. Almost all careless insects fall under the insidious mites of tarantulas, among them: caterpillars, mole crickets, crickets, beetles and others.

Tarantulas prefer to be located as close to “home” as possible; they painstakingly protect their territory, protecting yourself from strangers. In cases where the spider needs to move away from the hole, it ties itself to it with a web to make it easier to find its way home. The only option to force the creature to leave its home territory is mating season, at this moment the spiders forget about everything and lose their heads. As a result, they are able to go a long way in search of a suitable female.

Reproduction

If the male managed to find a worthy candidate, he decides to hit on her. After a short courtship, the spiders enter into a relationship. Unfortunately, this relationship is not destined to end long and happy life. At the moment of mating, the male must be as careful and tense as possible, because after this process is completed the female will try to bite her “suitor” and give them dinner. The fate of the male depends on how quickly he reacts (many manage to escape). The female, having already been fertilized, continues to live alone.

Tarantula

Eggs spider lays in her hole. At an early stage, they are stored in a cocoon, which she drags along with her throughout the entire “gestation” period. Even after birth, baby tarantulas live on their mother’s back until they become more independent (they learn to hunt and crawl).

Known species

Poisonous or not?

One of the most important questions related to tarantulas is whether they are poisonous or not, are they dangerous to humans? Despite the mass of legends, a lot of misinformed people and confusion with other species of spiders, the tarantula is believed to be dangerous. Yes, the spider is poisonous, and its poison can kill, but only animals. A tarantula cannot harm a person, and its bite will be similar to the sting of a bee or hornet. Moreover, the tarantula will not look for you and attack, despite the fact that it is a predator. You can provoke him to attack only by invading his territory or destroying his house (banal self-defense).

It is important to understand that you should not deliberately invite a spider to attack, which is unknown to you. At certain times of the year, for example, in spring, at this time the venom of spiders gains strength (it is more toxic) and some individuals with their bite can lead to unpleasant consequences. An infected person may experience nausea, dizziness, and the like (not fatal, but creepy and unpleasant).

The degree of danger varies depending on the time of year:

• Spring - at this time spiders wake up and have a rather weak poison;
• Summer - they are completely awake, the poison intensifies several times;
• Autumn - the strength of the poison declines again due to the approaching hibernation.

Tarantula as a pet

Tarantula is a wonderful pet. The spider does not ask for a lot of food, is quite unpretentious to living conditions, is relatively safe (poisonous, but calm and flexible) and interesting. They are also very beautiful, for example, the black Brazilian version. In general, these creatures are very popular, many people buy American spiders, and some get by with South Russian ones.

Choosing a spider preference should be given to a female, since they can live much longer.

Tarantula is a general name for spiders that are large in size and covered with hair. More than 900 species belong to this family. The tarantula spider is a species of large poisonous araneomorphic insects; they belong to the large family of wolf spiders. All representatives of this family are poisonous to a greater or lesser extent. Before moving on to the description of these amazing creatures, I would like to note that the simplicity of their maintenance has led to the popularity of tarantulas as exotic pets.

Tarantula: description

The spider consists of two parts - the abdomen and the cephalothorax. There are four pairs of eyes on the head. The legs of this large insect are shaggy and long. The hairs growing on them are quite sharp; upon contact with human skin, they can injure, resulting in a burning sensation and severe itching. The tarantula spider uses these hairs to protect itself from its natural enemies. The furry predator kills the victim that falls into its paws with fangs, the length of which is 1 cm.

Fluffy insects are very beautiful. The color can be brown or black, but brown-rusty individuals of this species are also found. The spider weighs about 90 g, with females noticeably bigger size than males.

Lifestyle

The tarantula spider lives in deep burrows, which it makes in hard soil. Such a spider's dwelling reaches up to 25 cm vertically in depth. At the entrance, the predator builds a vertical wall, using plant remains and soil as building materials. The spider lines its burrow with cobwebs. When the rainy season or molting time begins, the entrance from above is closed with threads of cobwebs and earth. With the onset of winter, the insect covers its home with dry plants mixed with cobwebs.

The tarantula hunts mainly at night, guarding prey at the entrance to the hole. During the day, he sits out in his lair and waits for a random victim there. Based on this, it can be understood that a person can suffer and receive a tarantula bite only in those cases when he himself invades his territory and destroys the home of a predatory insect.

Tarantulas do not go far from their home; if they have to move away a little, they always go, tied to the hole with their web. This is how spiders find their way home. True, there are exceptions during the mating season. At this time, the males, forgetting about caution and rules, go in search of a female, spending a long time on the way.

Reproduction

When, after a long search, the male tarantula finally finds a female, he begins to court her. The “lady” reciprocates, but you need to behave extremely carefully with her. After the flirting ritual, the spiders mate; it is at this moment, after the end of the mating act, that the female can bite her unlucky “gentleman,” who will instantly turn from a groom into dinner. Therefore, males must have quick reactions and quick reverse movements in order to escape in time. This is what it is - a spider wedding!

The spider lays her eggs in her hole, where she wraps them in a web, resulting in a cocoon. The expectant mother carries it with her everywhere until the little tarantulas appear. But even after birth, the spiders ride on their mother’s back for some time. Only after growing up and learning to crawl and live independently do children leave parents' house and begin to arrange their own home and independent life.

Why is a tarantula dangerous?

As mentioned earlier, the bite of a tarantula, no matter what species it belongs to, is still poisonous. How dangerous a tarantula is depends on the age of the predator, race, gender, season and some other factors.

Let's consider the toxicity of these insects, based on the time of year:

• April- just waking up after winter, tarantulas are very inert, their poison is not too toxic.
• May- in the middle of this month there comes a period when females lay eggs. Spiders become very active, and the toxicity of the poison increases by 2 times.
• June- at the beginning of the month, mating and migration occur; the venom of predators at this time is 3 times more toxic.
• August- spiders, especially young females, have less toxic venom.
• September- before wintering, the toxicity of the venom of hairy insects is reduced by 2 times.

Why is the tarantula spider dangerous for living beings? This creature is not in vain considered a predator; its bite has a neurogenic effect on nervous system. The venom of this spider can lead to neuromuscular disorders, disorders of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. So you need to be extremely careful with this cute and fluffy creature of nature.

Black tarantula as a pet

When talking about representatives of the wolf spider family, it is impossible not to mention such a handsome black brazilian tarantula. This beautiful insect considered the most best view spiders for home keeping.

It, of course, also belongs to predators, but at the same time it has a calm and obedient character. Those who are already closely acquainted with the black shaggy fluffy can confidently recommend it as the most obedient spider. Live it out amazing creature in the right conditions can be up to 20 years. So for a long time the beautiful pet will be next to its owner.

Tarantulas are large, poisonous wolf spiders. This means that the animal hunts, unlike its relatives, most of which feed on prey caught in trapping nets. He needs the web only for arranging the nest.

For food it catches insects and small vertebrates, which it kills with poison. Tarantula bites of any kind are poisonous, so in this case a person experiences quite strong and unpleasant sensations, and some may develop an extremely violent allergic reaction.

The habitats of spiders of this species are dry deserts, steppes or wastelands, where there are stones, branches or other shelters. Sporadically found in forests and forest-steppe. The nest is made in vertical burrows, where they are found during daylight hours and where they obtain food during the dark.

All representatives of the genus have poisonous glands that release poison into the chelicerae (elements of the jaw apparatus), the latter pierce the body of the victim and inject toxins. Several milligrams are released at a time. More details about the biology of these animals can be seen in the video provided in this article.

After wintering (at the end of April), spiders begin to become sluggish for the first time. At this time, the venom of even a very large individual is not as toxic as in summer. Breeding begins in May.

By the middle of the month, the toxicity doubles, and at the beginning of summer the poison becomes three times stronger. This coincides with the migration period. In autumn, toxicity begins to gradually decrease and by the time of hibernation the spiders have the same poison as after hibernation.

Tarantulas are common in Europe (everywhere), southern regions Russia, Ukraine and sporadically in Belarus. Most widespread We received only two types (table).

Table. Known species:

Features of poison and bite

For man toxic substances, entering the bloodstream when the skin is pierced, are very painful, but do not pose a mortal danger. In rare cases, a violent allergic reaction may develop, and even less often, anaphylactic shock. Venom is used to attack invertebrates and small mammals– mice, shrews, lizards and others.

When bitten, pain occurs and swelling is approximately twice as much as after contact with a wasp. Immediately, two small marks from the puncture of the chelicerae remain on the skin (depending on the type of spider and its size, the distance between the puncture marks will be different - 5-15 mm). The location where the bite occurs is important.

If a leg or arm is injured (statistically, these parts of the body account for the majority of spider attacks), then other than swelling there will be no disturbances, but if the poison gets into the neck, then the consequences can be more serious - the voice will change, breathing will be difficult due to for edema, sometimes there is a possibility of inability to breathe at all, without medical assistance.

It is very important to correctly understand when a person develops an increased reaction to poison. With allergies, suffocation, changes in heart rhythm, and severe rapid swelling are observed. For such people, the location of the bite does not matter at all, and in some cases, even just getting the toxin on the skin is enough to trigger a powerful allergic reaction.

Interesting. The most popular and famous all over the world big spider– Apulian tarantula, homeland – Italy. Most often he was met in the outskirts of the town of Taranto. It was believed that its bite was unusually toxic, and in order to neutralize it, one must constantly move. For treatment, they came up with a special melody, which is now better known as tarantella.

Symptoms of a South Russian tarantula bite

The severity of the body's reaction to spider toxins largely depends on the seasonality, type, size and gender of the animal, as well as the individual characteristics of the body of the bitten person (weight, gender, age, general state health, sensitivity to poison).

The standard clinical picture is as follows:

• severe pain at the site of the bite;
• swelling and redness;
• hyperemia and hyperthermia at the site of the bite;
• mild tissue necrosis (at puncture sites);
• weakness, malaise, drowsiness and low-grade fever are evidence of increased sensitivity to poison.

If a person becomes clearly ill, breathing becomes difficult, becomes very dizzy, and signs of dyspepsia or other symptoms join the general negative symptoms. negative manifestations- This is evidence of an allergy. In this case, you must immediately seek qualified medical help (take the patient to the toxicology department or call an ambulance).

Interesting. Previously, they tried to treat tarantula bites with an infusion of these spiders in vegetable oil, since they have an antidote to their own poison, but doctors proved the uselessness of this remedy, and if the patient claimed that he felt better, it was most likely a placebo effect.

What to do

If you got hurt healthy man, then you won’t have to take any special actions. You can wash the wound with soap, then cover it with a bactericidal plaster. If you apply cold, this will somewhat reduce the sharp pain and slow down the spread of the poison.

You can take any antihistamine that you have on hand (suprastin, diphenhydramine, edem, cetrin and others). This will help relieve allergic symptoms. In principle, the instructions have been exhausted and you can continue to do your usual activities, as far as the swelling allows, which, as a rule, begins to subside after a few days and soon disappears.

If a person turns out to be more sensitive to poison, then he should be provided with complete rest and plenty of fluids. In this case, it is necessary to take powerful antiallergic drugs, for example, tavegil or glucocorticosteroids (intramuscularly, or preferably intravenously) - dexamethasone, prednisolone and others.

It is highly desirable that a person with an allergy knows a set of correct measures, which the attending physician can advise. The algorithm of actions is similar if you have been bitten Small child, and his condition worsens. After first aid provided on your own, the victim should be transported to a medical facility.

What not to do

It is important to be aware of the mistakes that people often make, thinking that it will have some benefit, but in fact it does not.

1. Cauterize the wounds or cut them with a knife. In the first case, you will only get burns that will take a long time to heal. Incisions are made, as a rule, to better suck out the venom, but in this case, an infection can occur, and then the spider’s venom quickly penetrates into the deeper layers, so such an operation will not be particularly successful.
2. Often, after several hours, severe itching develops, but if you scratch the body, the swelling intensifies and the skin is damaged, and this opens the gates for pathogenic microflora.

Prevention

Spiders do not attack first and are timid; when they meet, they try to leave or hide. The nests will be defended; females show the highest aggression during the period from laying eggs and while they are surrounded by offspring. If a spider is carelessly picked up, crushed or handled carelessly, then those that were raised at home and are accustomed to humans can also bite.

To avoid being bitten you need to:

• in nature, wear closed clothes; when collecting anything, carefully monitor what you pick up;
• during a hike, there should be no thick cobwebs or holes at the parking site; it is better to clear the place and thoroughly inspect it, remove branches and stones, cover the holes with earth;
• do not keep tents open, carefully inspect all things before going to bed;
• everything needed for a fire should be prepared in advance during daylight hours, there is no need to do this at night;
• closely monitor children, who often find various animals themselves and begin to play with them;
• summer cottages should have insect protection on doors and windows;
• if a spider is discovered and you decide to examine it, you do not need to get too close, as it can jump and bite in self-defense;
• if there are spiders directly on summer cottage or near it, it is recommended to get rid of arthropods using insecticides, which can be purchased in specialized stores.

Important. Tarantulas never attack first. The spider bites a person solely for self-defense.

There are about 1200 species. Almost this family is scattered throughout all countries of the world. There are even species that live in the Arctic.

The toxicity of tarantulas has been known for a long time, but its degree has been clearly exaggerated. Scientists suggest that many cases of severe poisoning, including deaths, occurred not from tarantula bites, but from the bite of a “black widow,” which lives in many southern regions of the Earth along with tarantulas.

In Italy, the tarantula has long been considered extremely dangerous. The nervous disease “chorea,” which was widespread there several centuries ago, was associated with its bites. There were especially many cases of the disease in the vicinity of Taranto, which is why the spider received the name “tarantula”. Moreover, it was believed that the best way to remove poison from the body was through quick, rapid movements. Thus, in Italy the well-known tarantella dance arose: people, as they say, danced until they dropped and remained alive. This reinforced their belief in the need to move if bitten by a tarantula. In fact, a tarantula bite usually represents mortal danger only for small animals.

A geologist from one of the expeditions in the area says that the toxicity of tarantula venom is greatly exaggerated. Aral Sea, who himself, due to his own frivolity, was bitten by this spider. Tired of his athletic boots and left barefoot, he stepped on a spider, which immediately sank its jaws into his leg. The tarantula was immediately slammed down with a boot, and the victim, having read horror stories about tarantulas, decided to calmly wait for death. The pain began to slowly spread down his leg, and then he suddenly felt some improvement. I listened to my feelings: my leg hurt noticeably less.

After a few days, the pain completely disappeared, only some numbness remained in the leg, but it soon disappeared. The man could not understand anything. Having mentally experienced the inevitable onset of death, the geologist only in Moscow, having covered himself with literature, learned that the tarantula is indeed a deadly poisonous creature, but not for people. The idea of ​​a tarantula, which cost a man several difficult hours of saying goodbye to life, was formed as a result of reading the detective story “Tarantula Bite.” The author of the detective story, without familiarizing himself with the scientific literature, wrote a book that misled many readers about the poisonousness of this spider.

Tarantula venom is highly toxic to invertebrate animals, which the spider often feeds on. It can also kill small vertebrates. The toxin is protein in nature. It easily penetrates into the body of animals due to the substances it contains - histamine and hyaluronylase, which increase tissue permeability. Tarantula venom affects smooth muscles, causing them to contract convulsively.

In the body of vertebrates, there are striated muscles (these are the motor muscles of the arms and legs) and intercostal smooth muscles, which have a different structure. Intercostal smooth muscles line many organs, i.e. they are located where slow and smooth contraction is necessary.

Venoms of a tarantula of one of the species living in South America, have a strong effect on the tissue surrounding the bite site. Having a high local effect, poisons cause deep cell damage - necrosis in and around the bite site, and a person almost does not feel pain when bitten. Necrosis translated from Greek means “death.” Under the influence of toxic substances, tissue cells where the poison has penetrated are destroyed. The area of ​​necrosis has a whitish-grayish color. The tissues lose their structure and become a shapeless mass.

Going to places where you constantly warm climate, you need to be very careful. Representatives of such flora and fauna can be dangerous to humans, including the tarantula. This is an arachnid representative that has a rather terrifying appearance.

There are often cases when spiders protect their own offspring and attack people, biting them. Therefore, you need to know what to do if you are bitten by this arachnid creature.

Tarantulas live in warm regions. The alpine species has the maximum amount of poisons, which is common in Italy. A female specimen can reach 8 cm in length.

The South Russian tarantula is distributed in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Its size is approximately 1.5-3 cm. This type not so poisonous, but meeting him can also be very unpleasant.

Tarantulas belong to the group of wolf spiders. They do not spin webs to capture their prey. Their hunting resembles the hunting of many predators.

Tarantulas initially look out for their prey, after which they rush at it and inject poison into the body of the caught victim. Food of these arthropods - animals small size and insects.

The breeding season is in May-June. During this period, tarantula venom is the most dangerous. A pregnant female makes a web in her own hole, and then lays eggs in it. The cocoon, along with all the eggs, is attached to the tarantula’s belly. After the appearance of small spiders, they still remain on the mother’s body until they learn to feed themselves.

These arthropods bite very painfully, but their bite is not particularly dangerous to human life.

Females can attack people in order to protect their own brood. In my own way appearance The tarantula is a bit similar to the tarantula spider, but the second one is much larger in size.

Especially dangerous bite tarantula is for children, for the elderly, as well as for people who are prone to developing allergic reactions.

After a bite, a person exhibits the following symptoms:

• In the area where the tarantula bit, 2 small punctures are visible to the naked eye;
• The bite site becomes red, there is swelling of the skin;
• Severe burning and itching appears at the site of the lesion;
• The pain from a spider bite can be compared to hornet or wasp stings;
• A person’s body temperature may rise, but it returns to normal very quickly.

You need to know that the bite of this arthropod poses a danger to humans if an allergy occurs.

In this case, the symptoms are more pronounced and various complications may be present:

• Bubbles appear;
• The bite site swells greatly;
• You feel severe pain that does not decrease or go away even after some time;
• A person may experience a strong increase in body temperature that does not go away over time;
• Severe headaches are present;
• Nausea develops and the person may vomit;
• A bitten person becomes weak and dizzy;
• The heart rate increases, and blood pressure decreases;
• Respiratory function becomes difficult;
• There is a feeling of numbness initially in the legs and arms, and then throughout the body;
• The person may lose consciousness.

Important! If you have any allergic reaction, you need to act as quickly as possible! The injured person should be taken very quickly to a hospital, where he can receive qualified assistance.

After a tarantula bite, you should never leave things to chance. A person who has been bitten of a given insect, you need to urgently provide first aid.

The affected area should be washed with soapy water at room temperature, and then treated with any antiseptic. It could be , .

To reduce pain, apply a cool compress to the affected area. This could be ice or just a bottle (hot water bottle) with cold water.

When the painful sensations decrease, you need to lubricate the affected area of ​​​​the epidermis with an ointment that contains an antibiotic, or an ointment that eliminates inflammation. If you have an antihistamine medication on hand, you should definitely give it to the bitten person.

The limb where the bite occurred can be raised slightly upward so that the swelling does not accumulate in one place. It is strictly forbidden to scratch the place where the bite was, because this can cause infection.

To reduce the itching that occurs, you need to apply a special gel against insect bites to the affected area. It will cool the skin. The patient must be carefully monitored, and as soon as serious allergic manifestations appear, immediately see a doctor.

Attention! The area bitten by the tarantula should not be burned with anything hot. Also, the bitten area should not be cut. Thus, the toxic substance cannot be removed, but an infection can be caused.

Prevention of bites

To avoid such a nuisance as a tarantula bite, it is important to adhere to some rules:

• If you need to stay overnight in an open area, then avoid options where there is a large accumulation of stones and dry branches. Tarantulas may also be found in fallen trees.
• If you are in an area where tarantulas live, be sure to wear closed shoes.
• Be sure to close your tent tightly for the night.
• Before you go to bed, check for spiders in your tent.
• Before you put on your shoes or get dressed, carefully review and shake out your things.
• Be sure to explain to children that catching and playing with a spider they see is prohibited, as it is dangerous. If you tease a spider, it may jump up and deliver a bite.
• If you cannot avoid the bite, you should try to crush the tarantula and smear the affected area with its blood. There is an antidote in their blood.