One of the most poisonous spiders in the world is the black widow or Latrodectusmectans. The black widow spider can be identified by its color (depending on the type) and an hourglass-like shape in its abdomen. Typically, black widow spiders are found in temperate regions of the south and west and sometimes in the United States.
How Poisonous Are Black Widow Spiders?
Black widow is much feared because its bite is fifteen times more venomous than a rattlesnake. If a human is bitten by a black widow, the spider bite symptoms are muscle pain, abnormalities in diaphragm that makes difficult to breath and nausea. This may be an overstatement, contrary to what reports say that a black widow spider bite has no serious damage to humans according to some people who were bitten by it. Many says that it can really be fatal if children, elderly or the infirm is infected by its venom.
The most vulnerable animals at risk from the black widow’s bite are the insects. Unfortunately; it is the male black widow spiders. A female black widow spider kills and eats her mate from time to time after they mate in gruesome manners that gave the insect its name “widow”. Black widows are introverted all year-round but preys on her mate during the ferocious mating ritual.
The black widow spider makes a large web in which females hang a cocoon with hundreds of eggs. Spider-lings leave soon after they have been hatched, but the web remains there. A black widow spider uses her web to trap her prey usually mosquitoes,flies, grasshoppers, beetles, and caterpillars and other small insects.
Black widows are normally comb-footed spiders. They have spikes on their hind legs which they use to wrap their preys with silk when trapped. How do they feed? Black widows neutralize their insect preys with their fangs and form digestive enzymes to the corpses. By using these enzymes on their prey with their gritting fangs, the spiders soften the prey’s bodies and swallow the resulting fluid.
Black Widow Bite Symptoms and Treatment
How do you treat black widow spider bite symptoms?
- The bite of a black widow feels like a pin prick. Some people say it’s hard to notice that they have already been bitten by a black widow.
- In the area of the bite, two faint red spots surrounded by redness may be visible. At first glance, it may appear like a slight local swelling.
- The pain usually starts at the bite area. It might be in the arm or leg. Later, it may spread to the abdomen and back. In some instances, even the eyelids become swollen.
- Chest pain and muscle disorder are the common reactions because widow spiders inject toxins that affect the nervous system.
- The very first thing to do is to remain calm and get medical attention immediately.
- Get some soap and water to clean the bitten area. Then apply cool compress over the bite location and keep the area bitten elevated so that it won’t reach the heart faster.
- Lastly, don’t try to suck the poison just like in the movies — it does not work!
Remember that spiders like the black widow are not aggressive. They only bite when they feel threatened. For instance, they bite humans if they are accidentally pressed, sat upon or disturbed. So if you like in an area that are known as spider habitats, be careful where you sit!