Is the tarantula poisonous or not? Tarantulas. Where do tarantulas live?

Tarantula (Lycosa) – variety poisonous spiders belonging to the family of wolf spiders (Lycosidae). This family is scattered throughout almost all countries of the world and has about 1,200 species. Some species of wolf spiders even live in the Arctic.

Habitat of tarantulas

Tarantulas can be found in desert areas Central Asia and Kazakhstan, smaller representatives - and in southern zone Europe. The eastern border of their habitat runs through China and Mongolia, then Greece, Egypt, Asia Minor, North Africa. They are also found in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, Pripyat, Yenisei, the Volga delta, as well as in Austria, Hungary, and Romania.

A completely different spider, the tarantula, is often mistakenly called a tarantula. These are completely different creatures belonging to different genera, and in structure and habits they are completely different. – a real giant spider with a leg span of up to 30 cm and a weight of up to 120 grams. Tarantulas rarely exceed the 7 cm mark. Tarantulas are also considered large spiders, but they are still far from tarantulas. The length of tarantulas can reach 6-7 cm; there are also smaller species.

Lifestyle of tarantulas

They do not weave trapping nets, but prefer to hunt on the ground. Here they choose a convenient ambush and hunt down their prey. Having waited for the right moment, tarantulas overtake the victim in several jumps (hence the name of the family - wolf spiders).

Many tarantulas prefer to lead a nomadic lifestyle, while some, living in the steppes and deserts, prefer a sedentary lifestyle. They find burrows that are convenient for them and settle in them. Tarantula spiders lead night look life, and during the day almost does not appear on the surface.

Dzungarian tarantula

The South Russian or Dzungarian tarantula is common in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and southern Ukraine. Here it can be found in the steppes, in floodplain meadows near rivers.

When viewed from the front, the Dzungarian tarantula is quite cute and resembles a fairy-tale gnome. In a calm state, its front legs are lowered and a large streamlined head part of the body is visible, below is a transverse strip of short hairs, reminiscent of a short whisker brush; underneath it is thick, more long hair, similar to a beard, and above there are 2 large eyes and below them 4 smaller eyes. Just a cartoon character! But if suddenly someone had the imprudence to disturb it, the picture changes radically: the spider raises its front legs high above its head, taking threatening pose. Now he no longer looks like the sweetest creature. He's ready to attack!

The tarantula's vision is excellent. The spider has 8 eyes located at the cephalothorax end. 4 of them are shiny and clearly visible, and 4 are duller. The spider's 8 large legs, widely spaced in all directions, are covered with long black hairs. The poisonous apparatus of the tarantula is located on the sides of the anterior section of the cephalothorax and consists of two glands, the ducts of which end at the sharp ends of the strong jaws.

Tarantula poison

The degree of poisonousness of tarantulas has been greatly exaggerated. As scientists suggest, in cases of severe poisoning and even death, it is not the tarantula that is to blame, but the “black widow”, which lives in many southern regions Lands along with tarantulas. The toxicity of tarantula venom is clearly exaggerated, says a geologist who was on an expedition in the area Aral Sea. Having stepped on the spider with his bare foot, he was immediately bitten. A geologist who at one time read a lot of horror stories about poisonous tarantulas, began to wait for death. The pain slowly spread up his leg, and then he suddenly felt better. The leg didn’t hurt much anymore, and after a few days there was no trace of pain left. There was only some stiffness left in the limb, but that soon went away. The victim could not understand anything. Upon arrival from the expedition, having studied scientific literature, a geologist found out that the tarantula is actually a poisonous creature, but not for people. The venom of this spider is highly toxic to invertebrate animals. The tarantula most often feeds on them. The toxin has a protein nature and, due to histamine and hyaluronidase, which increase tissue permeability, easily penetrates into the body of animals. Spider venom affects smooth muscles, causing them to contract convulsively.

How to Avoid a Tarantula Bite

Spiders attack only in defense. This means that to avoid a tarantula bite, you simply need to not touch it. A spider can bite if it is stepped on or accidentally disturbed. Seeing a hand extended to it, the tarantula, as a rule, hurries to hide.

What to do if you are bitten by a tarantula?

The bite site is washed with soap and water. To dull the pain, cold is applied to the affected area. After a tarantula bite, the victim needs rest. You need to drink as much hot liquid as possible. For convulsions, thermal procedures are used.

X Although an allergic reaction to a tarantula bite is not so common, it is recommended that the victim be taken to the hospital as quickly as possible.

In contact with

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. to a 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 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 in 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, children leave their parents’ home and begin to create 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? It is not for nothing that this creature is considered a predator; its bite has a neurogenic effect on the nervous system. The venom of this spider can lead to neuromuscular disorders, 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 beauty as the 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.

In view of climate change, occurring at the present time on our plane, the weather has become drier, which has led to a significant increase in the population of various dangerous insects and cold-blooded animals in our latitudes. One of these creatures was tarantulas, which are generally quite feared. In the article we will talk in more detail about why a tarantula is dangerous, what you need to do if you are suddenly bitten by this insect, and how to prevent a collision with it.

Why is it dangerous for humans?

The tarantula's venom, which it secretes when it bites its victim to paralyze it, is not very dangerous substance for a healthy, complete body developed person. This poison is designed primarily for small rodents and other representatives of the insect class.

However, there is a possibility that, as a result of receiving a bite, your health will suffer quite significant damage, since the active component of the venom secreted by tarantulas contains biologically active substances that cause swelling in humans.

Did you know? The morphology of the limbs of tarantulas is such that the muscles with which the spider moves work only for flexion. Extension of the limbs occurs as a result of a change in hemolymph pressure in the lymphatic vessels. This is why, after being wounded, it becomes quite difficult for the spider to move.

Depending on the location of the bite, the occurrence of soft tissue swelling can have a variety of consequences. For example, if a spider bites you on the leg (statistically this is the most frequent place receiving such an injury), then you most likely will not feel any noticeable systemic or pronounced effects. But if the bite is in the neck, then with a very high degree of probability you may suffocate due to the inability of air to penetrate through the swollen glottis.
An important factor A predictive assessment of danger is also the presence and severity of an allergic reaction to tarantula venom. There are cases where people who suffered from this form of allergy died from extensive swelling of the soft tissues within a few hours after receiving the bite.

It is important to note that if you have a similar tendency to allergic reactions, the primary localization of the bite will be completely unimportant - the allergic process will start even if the tarantula venom gets on any part of the skin, this does not necessarily require damage to the integrity of the skin.

Bite symptoms

In order to respond as quickly and correctly as possible to a sudden tarantula attack, you first need to properly become familiar with the symptoms indicating that a bite has been received. If the person who is bitten by the spider is hypersensitive to the venom secreted by the tarantula, he will have only a few minutes before clinical picture will unfold in full force.
Below we provide a list of reactions that will be characteristic of absolutely any person who has received the injury discussed in the article:

1. The appearance on the skin of small dots symmetrically located at a distance of 3–7 millimeters from each other, from which lymphatic fluid, or ichor, oozes.
2. Redness in the bite area and at a distance of 1–1.5 centimeters around.
3. An increase in skin temperature at the site of the bite by 2–3 °C.
4. Sharp pain when trying to touch the bite area.
5. Severe swelling of the entire anatomical segment adjacent to the bite site (if the injury occurs on a finger, the entire hand will swell, if the heel is bitten, then the entire foot, etc.).
6. Acute stabbing pain immediately at the moment of the bite.
7. Dizziness, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting and discomfort in the abdominal area may occur.

• sudden, rapid (within several minutes) appearance of extensive swelling of the eyes, lips, cheeks, tongue and nose;
• unbearable itching and burning in the bite area, which does not go away even after the administration of large doses of antihistamines and/or adrenaline;
• extensive (involving several adjacent anatomical zones) swelling in the area of ​​the resulting bite;
• severe systemic reactions - vomiting, diarrhea, increased body temperature, headache, general malaise, drowsiness;
• a very wide (at least 5–10 centimeters) area of ​​redness around the bite site;
• disturbances in the functioning of the speech apparatus, the inability to perform a full respiratory cycle of inhalation and exhalation.

Did you know? The web that spiders of the described species weave is primarily necessary not for catching prey, but for the formation of so-called egg cocoons, which they need for adequate reproduction.

First aid for a bite

To an ordinary person A person who is not hypersensitive to tarantula venom may not need any first aid at all. All necessary first aid will consist of rinsing the wound under running water and cool water. clean water(to prevent the development of infection in the wound) and apply an aseptic bandage on top or cover the bite site with an adhesive plaster.
To reduce swelling, you can also place something cold on the affected area, such as an ice pack or ice cream. If a person suffers from a severe allergy to tarantula venom, then more serious action will be needed. First of all, you need to try to give the body as many opportunities as possible to maintain respiratory function at an adequate level.

Important! Tarantulas are quite peaceful creatures towards those that are significantly larger than them, but this is only as long as you do not violate the boundaries of their personal domain. Therefore, as soon as you notice a tarantula hole in your area, it is better to try to carefully cover it with earth or simply avoid this place.

To do this, remove all clothing from the victim. outerwear, especially the one that is squeezing the chest, and advise him to take a sitting position. Next, you can invite the bitten person to place his feet in a basin with hot water: This will cause the liquid part of the blood that is deposited in the legs to rush back into the general bloodstream, thereby counteracting the formation of massive edema. After this you need to call ambulance, and if the victim does not feel better, then it is worth considering starting the administration of medications.
The first step is to administer any antihistamines to the bitten person, for example, Tavegil, Suprastin or Diphenhydramine. If after this action there is no improvement in the victim’s condition, then it is necessary to begin administering glucocorticosteroid drugs such as Dexamethasone, Prednisolone or Methylprednisolone. All these drugs must be administered intramuscularly or, if you have the appropriate technique, intravenously.

Important! In some cases, it may be necessary to administer adrenaline, but it is better not to resort to this manipulation without medical supervision, as this can provoke the development of many complications, such as arrhythmia, tachycardia, or an attack of angina.

Prevention

1. Carefully inspect the area of ​​your property for the appearance of tarantula burrows and fill them up as you find them.
2. If you see a tarantula on your property, try not to make it uncomfortable, don’t make noise, and don’t provoke it into aggression. Follow him to the final point of movement and fill the hole with earth.
3. Do not set up a site in dry areas without access to water bodies, since tarantulas are quite fond of such weather conditions.
4. When going out to work or for a walk in an unfamiliar area where spiders of the species in question could potentially live, wear clothes that cover all areas of the skin as much as possible.
5. Wear gloves when working with soil.
6. Water your area and surrounding areas land plots at least once a week. Tarantulas do not tolerate moisture and with this moisture regime they will prefer to change their location to a drier one.
7. Purchase insect repellent from a specialty store and apply it to exposed skin before entering potentially dangerous areas.

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Going on holiday to warm countries, you need to be extremely careful. Local flora and fauna are not always hospitable to humans. These include the tarantula - an arachnid creature with a rather terrifying appearance. While defending its cocoon with laid eggs, the spider may consider a person an enemy and attack. Therefore, it is important to know what a tarantula bite is.

Tarantulas live in warm regions. The most poisonous is the Apulian tarantula, which lives in Italy, in the vicinity of the city of Toronto. The size of the female reaches up to 8 cm in length. But this type of spider is also found in the south Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. This tarantula is called the South Russian or Mizgir. He smaller in size(2-3 cm in length) and is not as poisonous as its Italian counterpart, but meeting with it will also be unpleasant. Can a tarantula be considered dangerous to humans?

A little about tarantulas

These large spiders belong to the class of wolf spiders; they do not weave webs to catch their prey, but hunt it in the style of predators. The arthropod lies in wait for its prey and pounces on it, releasing a toxic substance into the body of the prey. The main food of spiders are various insects and small animals.

Arachnids reproduce in late spring and early summer. At this time, spider venom is considered the most toxic. The fertilized female weaves a web in her burrow and then lays eggs in it. The cocoon with eggs is attached to the spider's belly. When the offspring hatch, they continue to be on the mother's body until the little spiders begin to feed on their own.

Many people are interested in the question: is the tarantula dangerous for humans? These insects do not pose a serious threat to human life, although their bites are quite painful. Having met a person, a female spider can attack him only in order to protect her offspring. These arachnids are often confused with the tarantula spider, which is quite larger and more fearsome than the tarantula.

Do you know how to render? First aid to the victim.

Find out how to prevent: rules of prevention.

What does a spider bite look like?

The most susceptible to insect bites are young children, the elderly and people suffering from allergic reactions. For an adult healthy person A tarantula bite is manifested by the following symptoms:

• at the site of the bite you can clearly see 2 small punctures;
• pain from an arthropod attack is comparable to the bites of several bees or a hornet;
• the affected area turns red, a slight swelling appears (see);
• itching and burning occurs in the bitten area;
• There may be a slight rise in body temperature, which will soon stabilize.

Please note: the tarantula is dangerous to humans only when an allergic reaction occurs. In this case, the symptoms appear more severe and complications may occur:

• the area affected by the bite swells;
• formation of bubbles is observed;
• there is severe pain that does not go away over time;
• body temperature rises to critical levels;
• the person begins to feel sick and may experience vomiting (see);
• severe headaches;
• , general weakness of the body;
• heart rate increases and blood pressure drops;
• a feeling of numbness first in the limbs, and then throughout the body;
• labored breathing;
• loss of consciousness.

Attention! If you have allergies, you should never hesitate! A person who has been bitten must be taken to a hospital as soon as possible. medical institution where he will receive professional help.

How to help with a tarantula bite

After a spider attack, you should not leave things to chance (see). The injured person must be given first aid. The bite site is washed with warm soapy water and treated with any antiseptic (alcohol, peroxide). To relieve pain, it is recommended to apply a cold compress to the site of the tarantula bite. Either ice or a cold water bottle will do.

After eliminating the pain, you can lubricate the bitten surface of the skin with an ointment containing an antibiotic (Levomycetin, Levomekol) or an anti-inflammatory ointment. If antihistamines are available, be sure to give them to the victim. It is better for the bitten person to provide complete rest and consumption large quantity warm liquid.

The bitten limb can be raised upward, this will prevent swelling from accumulating in one place. Do not scratch the site of a tarantula bite, otherwise you may introduce a bacterial infection into the wound. To relieve itching, it is better to lubricate the affected area with insect bite gel, which has a cooling effect. The patient should be closely monitored, and as soon as serious allergy symptoms occur, see a doctor.

Advice! The area bitten by the tarantula should not be burned with a hot object. It is also not recommended to cut the affected area. It is impossible to extract the poison in this way, but it is easy to introduce an infection.

Prevention of bites

To avoid an insect attack, you must follow the following rules:

1. Do not stop overnight in nature, in places where there are a lot of dry branches, fallen trees and stones.
2. Don't walk on the ground barefoot.
3. The overnight tent must be tightly closed with a screen.
4. Shake out your things before getting dressed and putting on your shoes.
5. Children need to be explained that under no circumstances should they tease or catch a spider they see. An angry spider is capable of jumping up and can bite a person.
6. If the tarantula does bite, you can try to crush the spider and smear its blood on the bitten area. The arthropod's blood contains an antidote to its poison.

A few facts about tarantulas

In ancient times, residents of Italy considered tarantula bites fatal. There was only one way to avoid death - dancing. The bitten residents began to dance, waving their arms and legs until exhaustion. This is how the famous dance “Tarantella” appeared.

The dance - tarantella - is also widely known. What do they have in common? This is despite the fact that one of the names of tarantula spiders - tarantula (tarantula) is doubly misuse term.

Now we will find out why everything is so...

There is a spider belonging to a very distantly related group which fell into disrepute during the fifteenth century. This spider, named after the Italian city of Taranto (or Tarantum for Renaissance people), is credited with being the cause of a strange disease called Taran-tism (Gertsch 1979). According to legend, the bite of this spider led to illness, and anyone bitten was doomed, and the only cure was: passion for madness - the passionate dance of the tarantella. Now, several centuries later, in calmer times, authorities suspect that the tarantella was a mere excuse for some private revels, at a time when fun was mercilessly suppressed. And as a result, a superstition regarding tarantism, any big spider was suspicious and instilled fear in the peasantry.

When Renaissance explorers explored the far corners of the world, they returned with terrifying tales of giant spiders- tarantulas “tarantulas”, living in the tropics, subtropics, and warmer climates temperate zones. Gradually, English-speaking people, especially North Americans, applied this name to a group of much larger and more showy spiders than European ones, forgetting almost entirely about the city of Taranto and tarantism. This myth about big and dangerous spiders still continues to exist even today.

In a number of European languages, particularly in English, the word tarantula is often used to refer to tarantulas (the family of the largest spiders), and sometimes to all large spiders of any species. In this regard, confusion often arises when texts are translated incorrectly. In modern biological systematics the taxa “tarantulas” and “tarantulas” do not overlap; Tarantulas are mygalomorphic spiders, and tarantulas are araneomorphic.

Apulian tarantula

Very often people are mistaken and consider the tarantula to be a large spider. Mainly due to misconceptions, tarantulas are called this way. This creates confusion.

These spiders live in steppes or deserts, in arid areas. During daylight hours, tarantulas sleep in their burrows. The burrows are vertical holes that go almost a meter into the ground. During the night, spiders emerge from their hiding places and go hunting. Prey most often are insects. These spiders are also unique in that they do not use webs to weave webs; they use webs to cover the walls of their shelter, or to build an egg cocoon.

As a member of the spider tribe, the tarantula has characteristics their relatives. Namely: their legs are not equipped with a full set of muscles, only flexor muscles. They bend under the pressure of hemolymph. This is why wounded spiders become lethargic.

South Russian tarantula

They breed in late July and August. The female looks for a hole that is more suitable in her opinion, lays eggs there, which she later entwines with cobwebs. After that, she carries them on the so-called spider warts until they hatch. And even after this, she carries them on her belly for a certain time.

Tarantula venom is lethal, but only to some animals. For a person, it is nothing more than a simple hornet sting. Swelling appears, but it is not fatal. The blood of this spider contains an antidote to its poison. It is for this reason that fights between tarantulas almost never end in death. But there are exceptions when the cause of death is blood loss.

IN this moment The most famous of the genus of tarantulas are two species. Apulian tarantula and South Russian tarantula.

By the way, here’s who they are and what they look like. Here's how you can The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -