Hlootoo's Art

buggirl:

Lately, there have been a lot of requests to identify bites.  I would like to address a few things about this.  Firstly, I am not, nor are any of the members (maybe with an exception or two) medical doctors so I cannot give medical advice.  If you or your children are experiencing a severe reaction from a bite please seek medical attention.  People have varied reactions to venom, allergies, insect saliva, etc..  

With that said, there are a few things to be aware of regarding bites.  It is peak bite season.  Ticks, chiggers, mosquitoes, biting midges and biting flies love this time of year.  Especially in CA, where we’ve had a wet year following severe drought, the wildlife is flourishing.  That is good news- however, with that wildlife is also the stuff that loves to bite you.

Most bites can not be diagnosed by looking at the bite alone.  This holds true for medical doctors.  So, if a medical doctor is quick to say “spider bite” I can almost guarantee they have jumped the gun. Remember, doctors know about as much as the general public does about spiders.

What I lack in medical knowledge I make up for in spider behavior and evolution.  All of 42,000 species of spider (with a few exceptions) are venomous.  BUT the vast majority of those (very close to 100%) spiders’ venom is completely harmless to us. And even in cases where the venom has the potential to be dangerous (namely in USA the black widow and brown recluse) that potential is grossly blown out of proportion (mostly due to media hype, false information and misdiagnosis).  

But my main point is this- spiders have evolved venom to eat their prey.  They need it. Venom is energetically costly to make. Much in the same way you need to eat a lot of good food to produce enough energy to get through the day- so does a spider.  If all you had to eat was a grape, you wouldn’t go on a marathon run because your body’s functions wouldn’t be up to par. So, they are picky with what they use venom on.  Yes, they will use it in rare cases in defense, but its primary purpose is to immobilize insects so they may eat them.  They did not evolve venom to bite sleeping mammals. They don’t go around and drop from trees and bite you at picnics.  It is most likely that any “spider bite” is something else entirely- probably something a spider eats.

Now do spiders ever bite us?  Sure.  In rare cases, where they feel threatened, just like any other animal would.  But just to put it into perspective- I have literally manhandled thousands of live spiders for my work.  I have to agitate them, run them down a racetrack, grab them close-fisted, poke them etc.  Out of all of those (poor) thousands of spiders (even including hundreds of more defensive species) I have only been bitten maybe a dozen times.  Most of the time, it causes no more than localized itching or sometimes I don’t feel it at all.  I actually have been bitten by the New World’s most venomous spider- the Brazilian Wandering Spider- while working in the Amazon.  I was a bit nervous as I was in a very remote location and didn’t know how I’d react to the neurotoxin. But all I got was a numb thumb for 6 hours.  So, even with that hefty title, and being way more venomous (and aggressive) than a black widow or brown recluse, only 2% of bites even need medical attention.  And again, the only reason I was bitten in the first place was because I was provoking the animal.

So, during the spring/summer bite season- next time you see a spider say “thanks for eating all the little shits that make my picnic miserable”     🙂

Know your stuff people!