2060: Humvee-sized, bulletproof meat-eating spiders attack

I have posted this thread here as it is postulated by scientists that the ice cap melting (global warming) is causing spiders to grow larger in the Arctic. Humvee sized spiders? I don't think so! It's a rather dubious story:

Danish boffins have uncovered an unforeseen, extra downside of the melting of the Arctic ice cap, according to reports. Not only will there be sea level rises and massive flooding*; there will also be a plague of enormous, invulnerable, heavily armoured meat-eating cannibal spiders.

This article is written very tongue in cheek but it led me to the original story which originates from Nattional Geographic and does have a very serious underlying tone:

Disturbingly, the Scandinavian spider specialist reports that over that period the polar arachnids have increased significantly in size - and correspondingly increased the thickness of their exoskeletal armour plates. In just one warm year, it seems, you can see a 10 per cent increase: and over the decade that Høye has been visiting the Greenland spider colonies there has been a 2 per cent upward trend, which he puts down to global warming.

Dubious Link
I believe that insects are limited in that they cannot grow too large because of gravity ... their exoskeletons simply would not be able to support the weight of their bodies.

Spiders getting bigger!
National Geographic reports:

For example, when spring came 30 days earlier than usual, some spiders grew exoskeletons that were 10 percent thicker than average, resulting in bigger bodies overall. Likewise, in colder years average exoskeleton thickness shrank. At the end of the ten-year study, average exoskeleton thickness averaged 0.104 inch (2.65 millimeters), a 2 percent increase over the 0.102 inch (2.6 millimeters) commonly found in the early years of the study—a big difference to see in just a ten year period, according to the researchers.

National Geographic


Global Warming will create insect population explosion

Global warming may prove to be a boon to insects according to new research published in the October edition of the journal The American Naturalist. Scientists from the University of Washington found that insect species found in warmer environments have faster population growth rates as temperatures increase. This growth may well have significant impacts on agriculture, public health, conservation and ecosystems

More Bugs

I think we'll just have to get Bill Shatner on the case! (anyone remember that movie "Kingdom of the spiders)?

No, seriously that's some interesting research. We know climate change effects all types of animals. I don't see why it wouldn't effect insects too.

reply to post by midnightbrigade


I was just thinking: "oh great now I have to supersize my bug zapper!" I am not particularly fond of insects ... perfectly happy as long as they leave me alone and go about their insect business, however I am not particularly keen on mosquitoes the size of remote controlled helicopters.

puts me in mind of that old favorite british science fiction comic 2000ad when they run a story about a prison camp run by giant tarantulas were very intelligent an gracious creaters. make bloody good camp guards too
there was a comic a way ahead of its time. if you think about it, robot wars
genetic infantry judge/cops(NWO) ABC warriors. hmm really makes ya think lol

[edit on 19-5-2009 by foxhoundone]

I AM SO SICK OF ALL THIS GLOBAL WARMING SCAREMONGERING CRAP!!!



So, if I dont die of thirst, drown, freeze or starve because of desertification... Giant spiders from the arctic are going to eat me..

Slightly Unlikely!

The article probably made that scientist a few quid.. I hope he loses his funding now for being so stupid.

Originally posted by deltaalphanovember
reply to post by midnightbrigade

 

I was just thinking: "oh great now I have to supersize my bug zapper!" I am not particularly fond of insects ... perfectly happy as long as they leave me alone and go about their insect business, however I am not particularly keen on mosquitoes the size of remote controlled helicopters.

I second that!!

I guess we should be stocking up on cans of Raid as well then?

[edit on 19-5-2009 by sugarmonkey]

A bit off-topic, but "Humvee-sized bullet proof spiders" brought to mind the following six and four legged robotic beasties:






[edit on 19-5-2009 by EvilAxis]

reply to post by EvilAxis


Sadly I cannot access YouTube from work, and I have used up my bandwidth at home.
This is Africa, after all

One thing is for sure. They will be an effective deterrent to cannibals, just ask the Neanderthals.....

Oh I cant stop laughing, the mental image of the giant spiders coming from the antarctic is just too much.

The research though is very interesting.

I do tend to agree that insects can not grow beyond a certain point because of Oxygen and Gravity limits.
Which, for another fact, is why we cant clone dinosaurs!

reply to post by secretagent woooman


I think the Neanderthals started it - the Homo Sapiens were probably vegans and got irritated when their pets got eaten, so they decided to eat a few Neanderthals as an example: "thats not nice! how would you like it if someone ate you!".

off-topic, apologies to me.

reply to post by Tentickles


I didn't know that ... surely we have the same gravity and oxygen levels as in the past? Maybe less oxygen?

reply to post by midnightbrigade


I am not worried about Humvee-sized, bulletproof meat-eating spiders attacking. midnightbrigade's avatar will take care of 'em.

Kittah is chargin' teh lazar!

reply to post by deltaalphanovember


I believe we have about 1/3rd the oxygen in our atmosphere today compared to when the dinosaurs where alive.

Could be 1/4th.

reply to post by deltaalphanovember


S&F. Very interesting.

But eeew. This could pose a bigger problem. What if arachnids harbor bacteria that cause disease in humans - or develop the ability to carry and transmit prions like flies and other ectoparasites?

"Scientists have evidence that bacteria dangerous to humans have begun evolving in insects, for reasons that are not clear.

The October edition of Nature Reviews: Microbiology reports that invertebrates such as worms and insects may have begun enabling a rapid evolution for bacteria normally not harmful to humans. Not only are insects capable of delivering disease through bites and stings, they now may be the breeding ground for strains of infectious bacteria never before seen in humans."

Dangerous Bacteria Evolving in Insects. URL

***

"Animal prion infections, such as scrapie (sheep) and "mad cow disease" (cattle), have shown a pattern of horizontal transmission in farm conditions and several ectoparasites have been shown to harbor prion rods in laboratory experiments. Fly larvae and mites were exposed to brain-infected material and were readily able to transmit scrapie to hamsters. New lines of evidence have confirmed that adult flies are also able to express prion proteins. ...Several cell types found on the human skin, including keratinocytes, fibroblasts and lymphocytes, are susceptible to the abnormal infective isoform of the prion protein, which transforms the skin to produce a potential target for prion infection."
Int J Dermatol. 2003 Jun;42(6):425-9. Could ectoparasites act as vectors for prion diseases? Lupi O. Center for Vaccine Development, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX, USA. PMID: 12786866

OR

What if these big spiders actually result from experimental tinkering?

"Washington -- Scientists are researching ways that genetically modified (GM) insects could be used to stop the spread of diseases that affect livestock and crops, reduce pesticide use and create pharmaceutical proteins, said speakers at a "Biotech Bugs" conference held September 20-21 in Washington. However, speakers said, more regulations need to be developed, and must be clear and coordinated among government agencies to ensure that the development of improved insects includes adequate risk assessments."

"Biotech Bugs" Could Stop Spread of Diseases, Scientists Say. (2004)
URL

Okay. I know. Life flourishes in temperate climes. No doubt about it. But. What if some biotech corporation or another jumped the gun, and didn't wait for the regs to be put in place?

reply to post by Tentickles


No wonder I am so out of breath in gym. Going to have to get an oxygen bottle to carry with me

Originally posted by soficrow

S&F. Very interesting.

But eeew. This could pose a bigger problem. What if arachnids harbor bacteria that cause disease in humans - or develop the ability to carry and transmit prions like flies and other ectoparasites?

aren't they already doing that?

i consider small and stealthy bugs more problematic in this regard than larger ones, which are spotted much more easily. besides, anyone can calculate exponential functions (with pocket calculator), it just doesn't mean much outside the realm of economics.... i think i'll just leave it at that.

“More than 300 million years ago, there was 31 to 35 percent oxygen in the air,” Dr. Kaiser said. “That means that the respiratory systems of the insects could be smaller and still deliver enough oxygen to meet their demands, allowing the creatures to grow much larger.”

www.sciencedaily.com...

i can see how the thought of mosquitoes the size of birds would make a lot of people slightly nervous, though.

But i thought since spiders have an exoskeleton they can only grow to a certain size..and i doubt its a humvee...

reply to post by Solomons


We have already come to the conclusion that no matter how hot it gets on this planet, insects will always be restricted in size due to other factors, such as exoskeletons, insufficient oxygen supply.

I wonder if anyone has done long term studies on insects in low gravity, high oxygen environment. Fruit flies are usually used as they have a very short lifespan, therefore the effects of such an environment can be studied on many generations of fruit flies over a relatively short period of time.