Spiders have been around for 130 million years. We must all be thankful none of them evolved to the size of a dog.
Of all the creepy crawlies that give people the willies, spiders, those eight-legged, twin-fanged arthropods with their six to eight pairs of eyes would have to be in the top league of nightmares had nature allowed them to grow to the size of a large dog. Fortunately for us nature limited their size to range from that of a pinhead to the 12-inch dinner plate spread of the Goliath Tarantula. As a result few are dangerous to man and the chances of being bitten by one of these is remote. That said if you travel a lot here are five it would be wise to avoid.
The Funnel Web Spider - Australia's most poisonous
The Redback Spider of Australia
The Brown Recluse Spider of the USA
The Black Widow Spider of the USA
The Wandering Spider of Brazil - often fatal to children
There is the case of paraplegic David Blancarte who was bitten by a Brown Recluse Spider that brought the nerves of his legs back to life some months later allowing him to walk again. But this is the only recorded case of a beneficial spider bite.
As a rule spider's prey is restricted to insects though some of the larger varieties are known to feed on frogs, lizards, snails and occasionally small birds. But it is their methods of devouring their meals that comes close to horrific. Being unable to eat solids, spiders predigest their food by injecting digestive fluids from their stomachs directly into the body of their prey to liquefy the inner tissues and organs to a thin soup before sucking them out, reducing the body of the victim to an empty husk in the process. Worse, if not hungry at the time of capture the spider will enmesh its victim in web, paralyse it with venom then leave it fresh and alive until hunger returns.
Mating is a problem for male spiders. Spiders have voracious appetites and the male being much smaller than the female has to approach his love with extreme caution, spending some time stroking her legs until she is sufficiently pliable for him to do his duty. But once sex is completed she usually awakes from her torpor, binds him in web and eats him. But though not around to see it he often has his revenge. After laying around 40 eggs, the Australian female social spider cannot reproduce again. During the summer she collects large insects for her young to feast on while she fattens on the leftovers. But as the young spiders get hungrier, they suck the blood from their unresisting mother's leg joints and when she becomes too weak to move, her young attack her, injecting her with venom and digestive juices before eating her alive.
Of all the creepy crawlies that give people the willies, spiders, those eight-legged, twin-fanged arthropods with their six to eight pairs of eyes would have to be in the top league of nightmares had nature allowed them to grow to the size of a large dog. Fortunately for us nature limited their size to range from that of a pinhead to the 12-inch dinner plate spread of the Goliath Tarantula. As a result few are dangerous to man and the chances of being bitten by one of these is remote. That said if you travel a lot here are five it would be wise to avoid.
The Funnel Web Spider - Australia's most poisonous
The Redback Spider of Australia
The Brown Recluse Spider of the USA
The Black Widow Spider of the USA
The Wandering Spider of Brazil - often fatal to children
There is the case of paraplegic David Blancarte who was bitten by a Brown Recluse Spider that brought the nerves of his legs back to life some months later allowing him to walk again. But this is the only recorded case of a beneficial spider bite.
As a rule spider's prey is restricted to insects though some of the larger varieties are known to feed on frogs, lizards, snails and occasionally small birds. But it is their methods of devouring their meals that comes close to horrific. Being unable to eat solids, spiders predigest their food by injecting digestive fluids from their stomachs directly into the body of their prey to liquefy the inner tissues and organs to a thin soup before sucking them out, reducing the body of the victim to an empty husk in the process. Worse, if not hungry at the time of capture the spider will enmesh its victim in web, paralyse it with venom then leave it fresh and alive until hunger returns.
Mating is a problem for male spiders. Spiders have voracious appetites and the male being much smaller than the female has to approach his love with extreme caution, spending some time stroking her legs until she is sufficiently pliable for him to do his duty. But once sex is completed she usually awakes from her torpor, binds him in web and eats him. But though not around to see it he often has his revenge. After laying around 40 eggs, the Australian female social spider cannot reproduce again. During the summer she collects large insects for her young to feast on while she fattens on the leftovers. But as the young spiders get hungrier, they suck the blood from their unresisting mother's leg joints and when she becomes too weak to move, her young attack her, injecting her with venom and digestive juices before eating her alive.
