NC Tarantula visits Joe

hdglock said:
I really don't mind non venomous ones all that bad but really "dislike" the ones that have a CCW :)
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Technically- All spiders are venomous. Their venom is not only how many of them subdue their prey, it's also how they pre-digest it. It contains enzymes (a protein that breaks down another protein) that reduce softer tissues into "bug-juice" (Spiders have no chewing mouth parts, just really big fangs called chelicera). Think of the venom as really strong spit (salivary enzymes). All spiders are venomous, but very few have a venom that contains the right type and/or quantity of enzymes to do harm to humans (a CCW). :D Recluses are a notable exception here in NA. The extreme necrosis you see when someone gets a fiddleback bite is basically the result of a lot of tissue being "digested". :eek::barf: Widows (only the females bite.);) are dangerous, not because of the potency of the digestive enzymes, but because of the special "additive" of a neurotoxin. There is usually very little local tissue damage from a widow's bite, but ooh boy- the damage to the nervous system is both painful and scary. BTW- Snake venoms work the same way, and for largely the same reasons. :cool:
 
Hey Joe-
Do you know if that male widow is a mature? The young all have the marbling on the abdomen, but I thought they lost it after the first couple of molts?
 
All of the larger males I've seen have that loud coloration on the abdomen.
These guys are attempting to mate, so I'm guessing they must be mature. Sexual dimorphism all the way.
blackwmale.jpg

BlackWidow8.jpg
 
Most spiders don't scare me, Blackwidows do. Yikes!! When I lived in Southern California many years ago I saw a ton of Black Widow's and some mighty big ones at that. IMO the reason someone inventet the Shot gun!!! :eek:

Heber
 
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