What type of spider is the black widow? Black widow spider. Lifestyle and habitat of the black widow. A black widow's bite is deadly

Black Widow(Latrodectus mactans) is deadly dangerous look spiders, which densely inhabits North America and Australia.

More often than not, our fears of spiders are unfounded, but not in the case of the Black Widow. Among all the spiders on the planet, this species is the most poisonous.

Male black widows are not aggressive; most often, females bite people. The female is much larger than the male, the diameter of her body is 1 cm, but the length of her legs is up to 5 cm.

Black widow spider - description and photos

The body of the black widow is painted glossy black, and on the abdomen the spider has a characteristic red spot, shaped like an hourglass. Female black widows are extremely dangerous and aggressive, they will attack and bite their prey without warning! The slightest provocation or sudden movement - and you are guaranteed a bite from a black widow. If poison enters the human body, you must immediately call ambulance, because if you do not do this on time, then death cannot be avoided.

A black widow's bite is deadly

The neurotoxin found in black widow venom is 15 times stronger than rattlesnake venom. Black widow bite is accompanied by immediate acute pain at the site of the bite, and after some time (from 15 minutes to 1 hour) other symptoms begin to appear. First of all, this is severe pain in the abdominal area, due to which a black widow bite is often confused with an open ulcer, pancreatitis or other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The difference is that the pain does not increase with palpation. In addition to abdominal pain, pain and cramps begin in the limbs, the patient begins to rush around the bed and scream, breathing becomes difficult and difficult. In addition, nausea, severe headaches, salivation, severe sweating, hyperreflexia, hypertension, paresthesia of the extremities, and low fever may occur. With timely medical care after 2-3 hours the pain subsides, but does not go away completely, and within a few days it can recur with new strength. Full recovery occurs only after a week. But bringing a patient to the hospital on time does not mean saving him; in children or elderly people, death often occurs due to cardiac or respiratory failure during the manifestation of the main symptoms.

Peak aggressiveness black widow spider falls between mid-April and October.

Adult male black widows doubled fewer females and less dangerous, and the babies of this species are born white or yellowish, and with each molt they darken more and more until they reach puberty and become glossy black.

Why is the spider called a black widow?

This species of spider received its name due to the cannibalism that the female exhibits towards the male immediately after fertilization.

During mating season the male who has discovered the female’s lair shows extreme caution when approaching his beloved’s web. Male in literally“sniffs” the web, trying to understand how long ago the lady ate. If the female is hungry, then it is likely that the date will not even have time to begin, and the man will be eaten without having time to experience the pleasures of love.

If the female is ready for copulation, she will respond to the male's mating dances with a response vibration along the webs, and this will mean "welcome." However, if after mating the female suddenly becomes hungry, the male will be eaten without delay.

Not only females are distinguished by cannibalism: spiderlings, while in a cocoon, begin to eat each other, and in the end only from 1 to 12 babies hatch. The black widow's breeding season occurs at the end of summer - July-August. At this time, the female black widow is able to create 5-10 cocoons, in which she lays up to 600 eggs!

Class - Arachnids

Squad - Spiders

Family - Web spiders

Genus - Latrodectus

Basic data:

DIMENSIONS

Length: female - up to 25 mm, male much smaller.

Shape and color: The body color is silky black, the bright red pattern on the abdomen varies depending on the species.

I: has a nerve-paralytic effect.

REPRODUCTION

Mating season: warm time. After mating, the female lays fertilized eggs several times.

LIFESTYLE

Habits: black widows (see photo) are solitary spiders.

What it eats: flies, moths, beetles, ants, other spiders.

Lifespan: in captivity for several years, in nature - usually 1 year.

RELATED SPECIES

There are many other spiders of the family of web spiders.

Karakurt spiders live in warm regions all over the world. They are well known for their strong poison, with which spiders kill prey, and sometimes humans. The black widow is dangerous because it likes to settle near humans. The second name for spiders is karakurt, which in Turkic languages ​​means " Black Death".

REPRODUCTION

Male black widow Before going in search of a partner, he weaves a small web and rubs the end of his abdomen against it so that drops of sperm appear on it. It then sucks up the sperm with its sexual organ, the pedipalps, which are like small feet. After this, the male is ready to meet his partner. He begins to shake his web as a sign that he is ready to perform a vital function. During sexual intercourse, the male uses the pedipalps to transfer sperm into the female's body. Sometimes only one mating occurs, but the female can store the seed in her body and use it, for example, after a few months. After mating, the female weaves a silk cocoon in which she lays eggs. After some time, small spiders hatch from the eggs, which are miniature copies of their parents and soon become independent.

WHAT DOES IT EAT?

The black widow feeds on flies, moths and other flying insects, as well as ants, beetles and even other species of spiders. She makes a chaotic, three-dimensional web, very often with a short “cap” in which she hides, waiting for prey. The male’s web is smaller than the web woven by the female. While waiting for prey, the black widow from time to time touches the fibers with her limbs. When an insect, flying, gets caught on sticky fibers of the network, it sticks to them. The spider through the web senses even the slightest movement of the victim, who is fighting for his life, so he, without wasting a moment, runs out of the shelter and begins to wrap the prey in sticky threads. Then the spider injects poison into the body of the victim. together with saliva containing digestive enzymes, and continues to wrap a web around the paralyzed insect.

Over the next few hours, the saliva digests the victim's body and the black widow sucks out its dissolved contents. The spider's muscular stomach acts like a pump. All that remains from the prey is an empty shell.

LIFESTYLE

Black widows (spiders of this genus are also called karakurts, which means “black death” in Turkic languages) live in many warm regions of the world. These spiders prefer the proximity of humans. Black widows love dark, protected places in basements or barns. They can also be found in residential buildings, for example, on the underside of a chair, where spiders sit motionless upside down. Black widows weave. irregular shape nets under floorboards, in piles of garbage, and even across the toilet. They lead a solitary lifestyle. Black widows are active at night, so they only attack people if they are surprised or frightened by something.

The venom released by the black widow spider contains neurotoxins that affect the nervous system and cause severe pain and cramps, making it difficult for mammals to breathe. At the site of the bite of this spider, a small red spot is visible, which quickly disappears. Then a sharp pain spreads throughout the body. Mental excitement sets in. The venom of a black widow is very dangerous for humans, but the bite of this spider does not always lead to death.

BLACK WIDOW AND MAN

These spiders are shy, so they will try to avoid people rather than attack them. They stay alone.

The black widow spider has earned its reputation as a killer, but the number of people killed by its venom is small. According to American statistics, of the 1,291 people bitten by the black widow over 217 years, from 1726 to 1943, only 55 died. Most of the victims were probably children or old people, for whom the venom could cause additional complications. A karakurt bite causes symptoms similar to angina pectoris and tabes.

  • The male black widow is significantly smaller than the female. It is not dangerous to humans, since it only produces large number poison. The claws on the male's chelicerae are too small to pierce human skin.
  • Karakurts were successfully bred at the London Zoo, where males mated with females many times and remained alive.
  • There is an opinion that a black widow always eats the male after mating, but this does not always happen. The emergence of such an assumption is due to the fact that after several matings the male becomes so weakened that he is often near death. At this time, he cannot escape from the female, and the female eats him.
  • In Europe, there is a karakurt, called by the Italians mal-mignatta. The Italian name has been adopted into several other languages. A karakurt bite is not as dangerous and painful as bites tropical species spiders, but the effects are noticeable for up to 3 weeks.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE BLACK WIDOW

Abdomen: silky black with a bright red pattern, often reminiscent of a clepsydra (water clock) in shape. The abdomen of males is narrower and has a finer pattern.

Size: female black widows are much larger than males.

Spider warts: organs on the underside of the abdomen that secrete silky fibers that serve to weave a net and cocoon, as well as to wrap around prey.


WHERE DOES IT LIVE?

These spiders live throughout regions with warm climate. By importing tropical fruits, people are unwittingly expanding the habitat of some species.

PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION

Black widows are quite numerous; these spiders do not need protection. The exception is an endangered species found on the island of Madagascar.

Migration of the poisonous Karakurt (Black Widow) to Russia. Video (00:04:44)

IN recent years poisonous Central Asian Karakurt spiders increasingly began to migrate to the southern and central zone of Russia: Rostov region, Krasnodar region) And Southern Urals(Orenburg region) and Ukraine (Kirovograd, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Lugansk, Kherson regions). They were also often seen in the Moscow region! The reason could be: global warming, and just a hot, dry summer and a warm autumn. Global change climate leads to the fact that the border of the arid zone is confidently moving northward. There is also devastation in the countryside when active agricultural work is not carried out. Abandoned fields and farms, where no one will disturb karakurts, are a wonderful place where they breed and multiply. The bite of an adult female can be dangerous to humans and can kill a camel or horse, but the venom is safe for goats and sheep.
Karakurt (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus) or steppe spider is a species of poisonous spider from the genus of black widows. Distinctive features- thirteen dots or spots on the upper side of the abdomen. Found in desert and steppe zone (Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, coast Mediterranean Sea, Crimea, Caucasus, as well as America, Australia).
Karakurt females begin to migrate in June-July in search of a suitable place for breeding. And it is at this time that most bites occur. After a person is bitten, a small red spot is visible at the site of the bite, which quickly disappears, but then the poison begins to act, and a sharp pain engulfs the site of the bite. Strong excitement begins, the victim experiences an inexplicable strong fear of death, spasms and suffocation, from which people with a weak heart most often die. After 10-15 minutes, terrible pain appears in the abdomen, lower back and chest, and the legs go numb. Headache, dizziness and vomiting are often observed. Characterized by blueness of the face, bradycardia and pulse arrhythmia, and the appearance of protein in the urine. Later, the patient becomes lethargic, but behaves restlessly, severe pain deprives him of sleep. After 3-5 days, the victim develops characteristic skin rashes and the condition improves. Recovery occurs after 2-3 weeks, but weakness usually remains for more than a month. If help is not provided in time, death may occur. So in the Kherson region over the past 25 years - 500 people were bitten. Of these, 10 people died.
After the mating season, the female karakurt kills and eats the male and begins to build cocoons. And in September, intense death of karakurts begins; by the end of October, all adult individuals die, only spiders in cocoons remain to overwinter.

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To combat karakurts, arachnologists - spider experts - recommend treating personal plot chemicals. It is noteworthy that the black widow does not attack people herself. She can bite if, for example, you step on her. The karakurt poison spreads throughout the body instantly. If you do not go to the hospital in time, death occurs within two days. At the moment of the bite, the victim does not feel pain; it occurs only after 10-15 minutes. Sharp pain appears in the lower back, abdomen, chest, breathing is impaired, and convulsions occur. With timely treatment, recovery occurs in 2-3 weeks. Karakurt is quite large spider, reaches 2 centimeters in length. The spider is black in color and has 13 red spots on its back. It is considered the most dangerous spider in Russia. Karakurts are rapidly spreading across dozens of regions of the country. The Volgograd region is now experiencing a real invasion. There are traditionally a lot of them in Crimea. Cases of bites have been recorded in the Urals, Saratov, Orenburg and Novosibirsk regions. According to experts, with such dynamics, the Moscow region is next in line. The rapid advance of the karakurt deep into Russia is alarming, the scale of the danger is impressive: the “kiss” of the black widow is 15 times greater more poisonous than a bite rattlesnake. In several regions of Russia, almost 20 people have suffered from poisonous spiders, six are in intensive care. The poisonous spider was spotted not only in the south of the country, but also in Novosibirsk and Moscow, where karakurt ( official name insect) is driven by heat from its traditional habitats - the Central Asian steppes. By the way, they tried to settle in the Moscow region a couple of years ago. Fortunately, it hasn't worked out yet.

Spider Karakurt black widow Black Widow spider. Video (00:14:08)

South Carolina Found some spider after poison was sprayed. We poisoned the spiders, and then this was our find.

Black Widow - Black Widow Spider (Encyclopedia of Animals). Video (00:06:13)

When meeting any spider, everyone’s instinct, developed over thousands of years, is triggered: a feeling of fear appears.

And not in vain, because meeting him can have unfavorable consequences, especially if you come across a specimen that is almost at the top of the toxicity rating among all arachnids.
And his name is: black widow.

The most poisonous spiders in the world TOP 10. Video (00:04:00)

Rating The deadliest spiders in the world
Most poisonous spider in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the “Brazilian Wandering Spider.” The spider got its name because it does not sit in one place and does not weave webs, but actively moves in search of food. Another extremely dangerous spider is the Black Widow, or in our language Karakurt, which can be found in the Caucasus and Crimea.
I present to your attention the rating of the 10 most poisonous and dangerous spiders on planet earth
10. Yellow spider Sak (Cheiracanthium punctorium)
9. Fringed Ornamental Tarantula
8. Chinese Bird Spider
7. Mouse Spider
6. Brown and Chilean Recluse Spider
5. Redback Spider
4. Black Widow (Karakurt)
3. Sydney Funnel Spider
2. Six-eyed sand spider.
1. Brazilian wandering spider

One of the most common arthropods throughout the Earth is the black widow spider. Its variety has 31 subspecies. These spiders make their home in secluded places where there is little sun and enough small insects.

One of the most common arthropods throughout the Earth is the black widow spider.

Ruthless arthropod cannibal

The black widow squad got its name because famous cannibalism . The female spider of this species eats the male after mating, and can feed on similar arthropods and even her own brood of spiderlings.

But some scientists refute these facts by the fact that such observations are carried out in laboratory conditions, where very often spiders have no choice but to eat their loved ones. And the male will not be able to avoid such a fate, because he has nowhere to run. But in freedom, in the natural environment, their behavior is significantly different.

Before mating, the male black widow courtes his lady for a long time and performs mating dances. Some scientists explain this flirting by the fact that sudden aggressive actions can provoke the spider to attack. In this case, the groom risks becoming dinner, and not the father of offspring.

Due to such cannibalistic incidents, the lifespan of spiders is short. In addition, karakurt (black widow) is a favorite treat for many birds and mantises. Usually the bright color helps its owner, warning everyone about the poisonous properties of the body. But in this case, the female karakurt is not saved by her red spot on her abdomen.

The life cycle of spiders most often does not exceed a year, but there are also long-livers that reach three years. Among the latter one cannot find males, in natural environment habitat, their life is much shorter than that of females of this species. Only in artificial conditions can they live for a long time, without ever mating.

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How to determine the habitat of karakurt (video)

Characteristics and description

In fact, the black widow spider is not aggressive. Karakurts bite people not out of a desire to kill or eat, but only for the sake of protection when a person poses a threat. Even an accidental intrusion into the territory of a karakurt provokes an attack by a spider.

A healthy adult may not be afraid of karakurt poison. Fatal consequences from a bite can only occur in sick people, children and the elderly. But be that as it may, an antidote is necessary for every victim. The black widow spider's venom, which enters the bloodstream, can lead to further problems with the psyche, nervous system and muscles.

The female black widow has stronger venom than the male. The spider is much larger than its mate, has a red or orange hourglass mark on its abdomen and shiny dark organs. The male is paler, with red or pink spots on the back. These karakurts have 4 pairs of legs approximately 12 mm long, and the body reaches 40 mm in females and approximately 20-25 mm in males.

The web of snares is stronger than silk, and makes it convenient to pull over prey thin threads, these spiders have curved bristles on the back pair of legs. Karakurt weaves thick fabrics, rather than delicate lace, to catch grasshoppers, various insects and other spiders.

Gallery: black widow (43 photos)

Unusual pet

Many people do not know what a black widow spider looks like and confuse the poisonous one with its relatives. There are a lot of dangerous spiders on Earth that look like black widows, each of them has its own habits and characteristics. In the vastness of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, the false black widow is found.

For example, white karakurt, which is most often found in steppe areas, is one of the subspecies of the black widow. This spider is not so poisonous; its bite will never lead to fatal consequences. But that doesn't mean it's safe to try his fangs.

The black widow spider got its name due to a special ritual - the female eats the male after mating. However, this does not always happen, often in cases where the female mistakes her boyfriend for prey. How dangerous is this creature for humans and how can it be recognized among other spiders?

Characteristic

Black widows are a genus of spiders, numbering 31 species, and they inhabit all continents without exception. Among them there are special representatives whose bite is very dangerous for humans.

The description of a black widow spider will largely depend on its species, but they all have characteristics characteristic of their genus.

  • Dimensions – the body length of adult male spiders is about 1.2-2 cm, the length of the legs is approximately the same as the body size. Males are approximately half the size of females.
  • Legs – The black widow has 8 legs. Characteristic feature– paws-combs. On the back pair of legs there are strong, curved bristles that help the spider close its web over its prey.
  • Color - the body of an adult black widow spider, as can be seen in the photo, is black with one red or orange spot, which is shaped like an hourglass, or with several red spots. In females that have not reached sexual maturity, the red spots have a white edge. In European species, the spot is white-brown. The body of young spiders is white or yellowish-white; after the next moult, it acquires a darker shade.
  • Vision - the black widow's eyes are located in two rows, each of which has 4 eyes. The middle pair is the main one, the side ones are able to distinguish only light and movement.

Note! Despite the large number of eyes, the black widow spider's overall vision is very poor. He recognizes the presence of a victim solely by the vibration that it creates when it finds itself in the web!

Development

The fertilized female lays her eggs in a cocoon of cobwebs, which she attaches near her fishing net. The cocoon itself is a grayish ball with a funnel-shaped exit. The clutch is under the constant control of the mother until the spiderlings emerge from the eggs.

Development in the egg takes 2 to 4 weeks. The young offspring, having just emerged from the eggs, immediately enter into the struggle for life. Stronger individuals eat the weaker ones, so not all survive. As a result, only a small handful of young black widows, often up to 12 spiderlings, leave the cocoon.

As mentioned above, immediately after birth, the body of young individuals is colored white. And only after several molts will they darken enough and look like adult black widow spiders.

Spreading

Where does the black widow spider live? Each species is attached to its own territory. For example, 8 species of black widows were discovered in Eurasia, in South and North America– 13, in Oceania and on the Australian mainland – 3.


Russia is also home to a certain type of black widow spider, which is known as the white spider. It can be recognized by its characteristic spherical abdomen, colored white or yellowish. At the same time, this black widow does not have a bright spot. Instead of a pattern, the white karakurt has four indentations on the surface of its abdomen, forming a rectangle.

Important! Despite the fact that the poison of the white karakurt is much less toxic than that of other black widows, it can be deadly for the elderly and children!

However, in lately Due to significant warming, many species of these arachnids have changed their usual habitats. We are increasingly hearing about the appearance of the black widow spider in the Crimea, the Caucasus, Taganrog, the Southern Urals and the Rostov regions.

These spiders prefer to hang their webs in dark, dry shelters and settle mainly in poorly lit places. Therefore, encounters with them can occur in sheds, garages, toilets located on the street, as well as in abandoned animal burrows, hollow stumps and even in dense thickets of grass.

Note! With the arrival of cold weather, the black widow spider always moves to a warm room, and therefore in winter they can be found even in a residential building!

Consequences of a bite

Female black widows are always more aggressive than males, but if the latter is accidentally disturbed, even he is capable of attacking and biting a person. At the same time, the risk of an attack from a spider increases significantly in the fall, when it moves into living quarters.

The bite of a black widow spider is moderately painful - feels like a pin prick. Characteristic symptoms are:

  • expansion of capillaries, which leads to slight redness of the skin;
  • swelling develops almost immediately;
  • after half an hour - an hour, muscle spasms appear in the affected area, which are accompanied by intense pain;
  • then the muscles of the anterior abdominal wall tense, the pain continues to increase and becomes excruciating.

Note! This symptom is often mistaken for a sign of peritonitis, but palpation of the abdomen turns out to be painless!

Some additional symptoms may also develop, including:

  • increased blood pressure;
  • intense salivation;
  • rapid sweating;
  • vomit;
  • attack of sudden shortness of breath;
  • cardiac arrhythmia with increased heart rate;
  • anxiety;
  • general weakness;
  • headache;
  • urinary incontinence;
  • muscle twitching;
  • skin sensitivity disorder: from tingling and goosebumps to complete numbness.

An allergic reaction to the poison is also possible. After a bite, it is advisable to administer an antidote as soon as possible. After three hours, there is a high risk of aggravation of the victim’s already serious condition, even death.

Note! IN best case scenario delay may result in permanent injury nervous system and deterioration of mental state without the possibility of its recovery or even minimal improvement!

To avoid trouble, watch for spiders when spending time outdoors or in country house, and under no circumstances pick them up.

Behind Karakurt (black widow), increasingly appearing in central parts Russia has gained a bad reputation as the most poisonous of the class of arachnids. He and his brothers from the Black Widow family owe this reputation to their fatal bite, which is fifteen times more poisonous than a snake bite. According to statistics, a person who is bitten by a spider of this genus may die within a few days.

The black widow is one of the most famous and poisonous spiders on our planet. Thirty-one spiders belong to the Black Widow genus, which is spread throughout the earth. Due to intrageneric crossings, mature individuals can have a black color with a characteristic shine. With their legs tucked in, they look very much like currants. Karakurt translated from Turkic language stands for black insect. It is important to know what a black widow looks like so that when you encounter a spider, you can take the tenth route around it.

Born spiders are about a millimeter in size and are colored brownish-gray. Instead of red dots, they have white dots and stripes. Immature spiders have an hourglass pattern on the underside of their abdomen, which disappears as they mature. They will acquire their characteristic color after the second molt.

The black widow is one of the most famous and poisonous spiders on our planet.

Before maturity, the female spider molts nine times, and the male seven. Therefore, the female has thirteen spots, and the male has four pairs of red marks. With age and molting, the color of females becomes black and only a spot resembling an hourglass shape remains, while the color of males almost does not fade. The size of the Black Widow spider depends on its age and variety.

The female Karakurt has a body size of up to two centimeters, the length of the legs is about five centimeters. She is three times larger than the male. Male, average size, does not exceed seven millimeters. The body of Karakurts is black, dense, spherical, with red spots on the upper side of the abdomen. Sometimes there is a white border around the spots. Now you know what a black widow spider looks like and it will not be difficult to correctly identify a poisonous individual.

Habitats

Karakurt is a spider found on all continents except the Arctic and Antarctica. Recently, the Black Widow spider has chosen Russia as its habitat. They live in wormwood steppes and inhabit saline and virgin wastelands. They love dry and grassy slopes of ravines, abandoned villages, and courtyard buildings. They feel ideal where there are hot summers and warm autumns. Therefore, we can distinguish several habitats where the black widow lives:

  1. In Kazakhstan, the spider inhabits steppe and saline zones.
  2. In Uzbekistan, the habitat of three species has been recorded: Dal's karakurt, Thirteen-pointed and White karakurt.
  3. Crimea is its traditional habitat, and due to climate change and strong warming, its population has increased several times.
  4. Türkiye, Iran and Afghanistan are the habitat of the black widow.
  5. The Russian spider lives mainly in the southern regions, such as the Rostov region, Krasnodar region and in areas bordering Kazakhstan such as the Southern Urals and Altai region.
  6. The southern European individual keeps Spain, Portugal, France and Greece at bay.

Most poisonous species lives in North Africa and America. Its venom is fifteen times more toxic than that of a rattlesnake. The habitat of the Black Widow spider is constantly changing due to climatic conditions.

Having reached sexual maturity, males begin searching for a female. Having found it, it attracts attention to itself by touching the signal threads of the web with its paws. At the same time, he slowly approaches her. A frightened female can kill the spider. It is generally accepted that after mating, the female eats the male. This only happens if the female does not have enough weight at the time of fertilization. In other cases, the male stops eating after mating and dies. This happens regardless of where the Black Widow lives or what species it belongs to.

Now it’s clear why the Black Widow spider is called that. After fertilization, the female spider weaves spherical cocoons for the eggs. Nearby, to secure them, she places a fishing net. A week later, small karakurts hatch in the cocoon and live there until next year.

A year later, when the outside temperature is at least thirty degrees, the spiders emerge from the cocoon through a small hole. While in the cocoon, the karakurt babies have already moulted once. They weave disorderly webs, hunting insects in groups. During prolonged cold weather, spiders can spend up to three molts in the shell that protects them, feeding on weak individuals.

After fertilization, the female spider weaves spherical cocoons for eggs

A week after leaving the cocoon, their first migration begins. To do this, they climb to a hill, release spider thread and fly to air currents. The need for migration among the Karakurts is laid down at an instinctive level. So they get into middle lane Russia, where on the eve of cold weather they can climb into people’s homes and hide in shoes, underwear and beds. This spider likes to spend the winter in cellars, sheds, and outdoor toilets.

Females are most poisonous in May-June. The venom of the karakurt spider is neurotropic. As a result, both a heart attack and respiratory arrest can occur. If a person is bitten by a female karakurt:

  • At first there will be a slight burning sensation, which will intensify to severe pain within fifteen minutes.
  • Redness or paleness of the face.
  • Two hours later, abdominal pain and vomiting.
  • Increase in temperature.
  • Joint and headache.
  • Seizures and arrhythmia.

A bite from an adult sexually mature individual can lead to fatal outcome

After 1-2 weeks, the pain subsides, but the consequences of the bite for six months resemble shortness of breath, dizziness and sudden fainting. A bite from an adult sexually mature individual can be fatal. Its venom basically has a protein structure, and if you burn this place with fire within two minutes after the bite, the protein will coagulate. However, to do this you need to know what a bite looks like.

What to do if you are bitten

A small red spot appears at the site of the bite. This area swells a little and goes numb. After a couple of minutes everything disappears. The victim must be urgently taken to the hospital. To slow down the absorption of poison into the body you need to:

  1. Apply ice to the bite site.
  2. Restrict the victim's movement.
  3. Transfer to a cool place.

Unfortunately, the bite is noticed too late. And the only antidote is anti-karakurt serum, which is very allergenic and can cause anaphylactic shock. Therefore, it is administered by specialists in a medical facility, while simultaneously administering anti-allergy medications. If you are bitten by a karakurt, you should never drink alcohol, because it increases blood circulation, and the poison will spread throughout the body faster. The Black Widow spider in Russia has recently significantly increased its numbers, so the number of victims has increased.

It is important to do some for residents of those regions where this type of spider is present in order to protect themselves from uninvited guests. It is better to play it safe and follow some rules to prevent an accidental bite, which can be fatal.

But there are living creatures that are not afraid of spiders. Steppe hedgehogs, bats, bustards enjoy feasting on spiders. A single wasp paralyzes it and lays a larva inside it. The wasps lay larvae directly into cocoons. Crickets break open cocoons and feast on spiderlings.

In nature, there are spiders similar to karakurt, but completely harmless - these are false karakurt. They have a bright red stripe on their abdomen, glossy legs and there is always a web of dead insects around their den.