Are spiders of Russia dangerous?

Russian spiders are very diverse. This knitters, horses, crosses, tarantulas and many other common species. Fortunately, poisonous among them are very rare. But anyway, each time at the sight of a small, and sometimes not very, predator, many instinctively grab for the sneakers. So how true are our fears? Perhaps it will be better to get acquainted with some species of spiders that are found in our country. And to draw conclusions.

House Spider

We have such spiders everywhere. Practically in every region, in every corner of the country there is this kind. The name of the house spider is given to him not by chance. The thing is that they prefer to settle in living quarters, and practically live with us side by side. As a rule, this kind of web is placed in secluded corners where it will not be noticed and swept away: behind cabinets, bedside tables, in dark corners. The web, which sometimes hangs from the ceiling, belongs precisely to their authorship. According to the structure, the sleuths of the house spider resemble a funnel. They are frequent and quite strong, and in the middle they have a depression, a sort of mink that is home to a spider. There he rests in anticipation, when some insect becomes entangled in the web. As for his building abilities, a small house spider will rebuild a new network literally in a day, if you brush off the old broom. Sometimes representatives of this species can grow quite large - up to 20 mm without taking into account the length of the legs. This happens when the house has a lot of insects, flies, mosquitoes, and therefore - a large amount of food for the eight-legged predator. But the usual size of a house spider does not exceed 10 mm.

It is noticed that with the sounds of music, such spiders are selected from the houses and begin to "dance" on the threads of the web. No, it's not related to their musical taste. The thing is that sounds make the agile network fluctuate, and the predator decides that someone has got into it. When it turns out that the spider web is empty, the spider tries to shake off the phantom insect in this way.

Previously, according to the behavior of house spiders, people predicted the weather, because these insects surprisingly sensitive to the slightest change. Our ancestors fully trusted them and they never made mistakes. It is not known how, but the spider knows when it will rain, and when there is a clear day. Before the cloudy weather, he climbs into his burrow and sits there without a mind. In the second case, on the contrary, he goes out and does his own business - expanding and strengthening his web, dragging cocoons.

Silverback

These are widespread water spiders in Russia, which are found mainly in the European part of our country. According to the way of life silver is unique. This is the only species of spiders that managed to adapt to life in the water. The main habitats of this species are standing ponds, but it also occurs in those where a weak current is present. For swimming, the spider uses all the limbs, in addition, during the evolution of this spider acquired an extension on the hind legs, which acts on the principle of oars. The entire body of the silver, especially the abdomen, is covered with small hairs. To them adhere bubbles of air when immersed in water, so the spider appears silvery. Hence the name. This is the only spider that can stay underwater for a very long time. Serebryanka builds an air dome there, sticking it to some plant or snag. There the predator rests, breathes and eats the insects caught under the water. In order to build such a dome, he needs to first weave a web of the corresponding shape, and then patiently fill it with air bubbles. In large spiders, the size of the balloon can be the size of a hazelnut. Like most of the relatives, the silverback sprawls the snare net, but it does it underwater. Just like other spiders, he entangles the caught prey with a cocoon from the web.

It is interesting that in silver males, males are much larger than females. (15mm and 11mm respectively) In most species, everything is just the opposite. Cannibalism, often found in other spiders, is not common in this species. The females and males build their houses side by side without fear. As for the offspring, the small spiders are brought out under the water under the supervision of the mother, and for the first time live in an air cocoon.

A way of wintering silverbirds is interesting. As the colds approach, the spiders look for the empty shell and fill it with air so that it floats to the surface of the water. There they attach a shell to the duckweed and securely seal the course with pieces of plants. It is known that in autumn the duckweed sinks to the bottom, and together with it the winter "house" of the spider. In spring the plant again appears on the surface, lifting with it a shell. In winter, the silver is in hibernation, akin to anabiosis: breathing slows down, limbs immobile frozen. In this state, he does not need much air, and the spider can survive until the thaw.

South Russian tarantula

Such spiders in Russia are not found everywhere. The habitat of the tarantula fluctuates on the border of southern, hot regions. They are also found in Central Asia. South Russian tarantula lives mainly in arid places: steppes, deserts and semi-deserts. Typically, the tarantula has a reddish color, but the color can vary to brown depending on the habitat. He does not weave cobwebs like other spiders. In hunting, this species relies on the speed of its reaction. Tarantulas build small holes in the ground or sand, in which they sit in anticipation of prey. When someone tries to look into the hole or passes nearby, the predator jumps out and pounces on an uninvited guest. Knowing this feature, people came up with an interesting way to catch tarantulas. In an ambush, a wax or plasticine ball is lowered to the spider, tied to a string. After attacking the prey, the insect gets stuck in its paws, after which it can be easily released to the light. But teasing the tarantula is strictly not recommended. Large, especially females (up to 4 cm without taking into account the legs), these spiders can bounce and properly squeeze the stimulus. Not only is the bite very painful (comparable to the bite of a bee, both in appearance and sensation), so it can also cause a dangerous allergic reaction. Although the poison itself of this type of spider is not fatal to humans. Until now, there have been no cases of death from a bite.

The name "tarantula" came from a medieval city in Italy - Tarantas. There were many spiders similar to our species, but more poisonous and larger. In earlier times it was believed that from the bite of this spider, a person risks losing his mind. And it can only be saved by the execution of a crazy dance, a tarantella. And most of all in the performance of this dance were adepts who came from Taranta.

The South Russian tarantula is characterized by cannibalism. Because of this, males rarely live until winter, while females can survive for several years.

Karakurt

Poisonous spiders in Russia do not have such a huge variety of species, as in more hot countries, but we have very terrible representatives. To such it is possible to carry the most dangerous karakurt. This spider is one of the most poisonous not only in our country, but also beyond its borders. His closest relative is the Black Widow, who is so horrifying to the people of America. But the poison of our spider is even stronger. Karakurt is found in warm regions in the south of the country, in the North Caucasus, Astrakhan and the Orenburg region. But in particularly hot years, there were recorded cases of the appearance of such spiders, even in the Moscow region. Females of this predator can reach 20 mm in length without taking into account the length of the paws. They are considered the main threat to humans, because small males in most cases are not able to bite our skin. Body color of this spider is black, the abdomen is very large and on it can be as bright spots of red or orange flowers. But there are spiders and without these warning marks. The main sign by which you can determine the karakurt, is on the underside of his abdomen. There is a pale figure resembling an hourglass (also it is colored in bright colors, like spots on top).

The female karakurt expresses a particular danger during breeding - from the beginning of July to the end of September. At this time, the spiders migrate massively. In search of shelter, they often creep into a person's house. And then they can be, for example, under clothes, where they can be accidentally or panicked, and then you can not escape the troubles. The bite itself is not very painful, it resembles a needle prick. But the consequences are much worse: first a sharp pain in the place where there was a bite, then in the muscles, especially the abdomen and chest, numbness of the extremities, vomiting reflex. If nothing is done, then the victim is waiting for a clouding of consciousness, a coma and death. Fortunately, there is serum against the bite of karakurt . Also a bite is recommended immediately prizhch match. The impact of heat will destroy most of the dangerous poison and prevent it from seeping into the blood. Russian spiders are mostly harmless, but in no case should one be frivolous if you notice the insect's characteristic signs of karakurt.