Black Widow spiders being run out of town

news.yahoo.com...

Black widow spiders seem to be universally feared. But who's scared of a brown widow? The black widow should be quaking all eight of its boots, a new study suggests. In the United States, there's a new widow in town. The brown widow. And scientists say it may be taking over some native western black widow territory.

At 72 sites, the researchers found 20 times as many brown widow spiders as black widows. Here's the creepy part: They frequently found them under outdoor tables and chairs, and in tiny spaces in walls, fences and other objects. The good news: Neither spider was found in the living spaces of houses, the scientists said in a statement.

It seems that the brown widow has been pretty good at expanding its territory and pushing out the black widows. The article says the brown widows were first seen in 1935 in the US in Florida, and by 2003, they were found in California.

In my area (North Texas), Ive found a few black widows around the house the past few years, but I havent seen any in the past few months. I'll problably end up seeing another one soon since it's summer. I still havent found any brown widows in my area yet but wouldnt be suprised if I do.

Also, here's some pictures!

Black widow



Brown widow

Sounds like spider racism!



~Namaste

The bite of a brown widow spider is minor in comparison to that of a black widow.

Well that is good news at least.
A pretty good LINK for the brown widow.

Peace

Just to keep this spider racism on track I would like to introduce the Cracker Spider! It does not like Black or Brown Spiders!

Originally posted by Mamatus
Just to keep this spider racism on track I would like to introduce the Cracker Spider! It does not like Black or Brown Spiders!

edit on 4-7-2012 by Mamatus because: (no reason given)

Thanks you just made me spew beer out my nose...

reply to post by mileysubet

Thanks you just made me spew beer out my nose...

Same thing just happened to me....

reply to post by buni11687


We found tons of the Brown Widow spiders in our big garage when we got ready to move. At least a couple of dozen adults, and probably hundreds of babies. We saved a few in jars and looked them up on Google, and we were pleasantly surprised. Apparently they make pretty neat pets. They live for many years. They won't bite on purpose, they are completely unaggressive, and you would have to press your skin to their mouth to get a bite, BUT IF YOU DO get a bite, they are even more dangerous than the black widow!

Great temperament, and they drive out the black widows, so I'm a fan of them.

We didn't keep any for pets though.

For the record, I'd rather find a grizzly bear or alligator in my garage than a damn spider. They really creep me out, they are sneaky, and they are dangerous, and I really, really don't like them!

reply to post by buni11687


Dear buni11687,

This is nooo joke. I lived in the Mojave desert for over 20 years, the brown recluse is the worst. I am not afraid of a black widow, don't want one to bite me; but, it is only painful. The brown recluse will cause you to lose limbs or die. The odd thing is that they are moving because they usually stay local, that is why they are called a recluse. For them to expand their territory means they are being pushed out rather than seeking something. I would rather get bitten by a rattlesnake than get bitten by a brown recluse. To anyone who wants to try and catch one, don't. These things are the worst.

reply to post by getreadyalready

They won't bite on purpose, they are completely unaggressive, and you would have to press your skin to their mouth to get a bite, BUT IF YOU DO get a bite, they are even more dangerous than the black widow!

Ive heard conflicting reports on the brown widow bites. (All I have done was spend about 30 minutes on the internet) . From what Ive read, the brown widow venom is more toxic, but since they are less agressive and also supposedly dont try to inject the same amount of venom as the black widow, the brown widow bites are less intense as the black widows. It seems to me that there is less information out there about the brown widow than the black widow.

For the record, I'd rather find a grizzly bear or alligator in my garage than a damn spider. They really creep me out, they are sneaky, and they are dangerous, and I really, really don't like them!

I really dont mind spiders that much. When I found the black widows in the past, we didnt kill them and just let them do their thing. Plus my area has a ton of those wolf spiders (the most common type of spider I think). There's usually a ton in my garage and they sometimes wander into the house, but I just shoo them outside instead of killing them. Id rather have a few spiders in the house than some of the other pests. Plus we also have a ton, literally a ton, of geckos in and around my house, so that is a major plus. (i love lizards). We found babies in our living room one time.

As for finding a bear or alligator in my garage.....Id problably grab a 12 gauge, open the garage door, and if it dosent leave, im going all out.

reply to post by AQuestion

This is nooo joke. I lived in the Mojave desert for over 20 years, the brown recluse is the worst. I am not afraid of a black widow, don't want one to bite me; but, it is only painful. The brown recluse will cause you to lose limbs or die.

I would hate to encounter a brown recluse. Ive seen the damage those things can do, and I know they are in my area. I wouldnt freak out too much if I was bit by a black widow or brown widow, but those brown recluses give me nightmares

Yeesh Hate spiders.

But when I saw the pic in the OP I thought "Hang on a second, thats a Red Back spider?!"



Thankfully wiki tells me they're related... But man I hate red backs..

So now we've got Brown Widows, who are kicking out the Black Widows, and are the common enemy of the Cracker Spider.

No one ever thinks about the Red Back... All these invading species...

Originally posted by buni11687
I wouldnt freak out too much if I was bit by a black widow or brown widow, but those brown recluses give me nightmares

oO

If they're even close to a red back ;

Redbacks are considered one of the most dangerous species of spider in Australia.[2] The redback spider has a neurotoxic venom that is toxic to humans with bites causing severe pain, often for over 24 hours. An antivenom is commercially available, and since its introduction in 1956 there have been no deaths due to Redback bites.

Spiders... now I'll be itching all night and be even more unable to sleep!!

Also the danger posed by being poisoned differs through many individuals sometimes, with tolerances or allergies.

Think of bee stings, for most people the venom doesn't cause much of a problem but for those allergic it can be fatal. So saying "how dangerous is this animal", well that depends on all kinds of things.

Just to play it safe I will be treating this spider as "poisonous", and will not be testing this hypothesis out if I ever encounter one.

The complexity of biological chemistry is difficult to grasp.

You can consume something specific, an antidote, and it will "cure" you of some of the effects of the venom, if timing is correct.

Also you could consume a specific food, which could increase the potency of a venom.

Every food is different, some contain dozens of chemicals each, the equations become abstract and forced entirely into the realm of speculation and estimation.

And people react different to each chemical.

So in theory, you could have someone who is totally immune to black/brown widow toxins, while most people are generally fairly weak against it, and even some who are extremely vulnerable to it. That can change from person to person as the chemistry in their body changes through time.

I do find it odd that in our common medicine cabinet/kits , most people don't collect antidotes for common venomous creatures in their particular region.

If the government wanted to really promote "healthcare", they would start handing out all sorts of antidotes and teaching people how to use them properly.

reply to post by buni11687


Flagging your thread because I always love the subject of diversity within the ecosystem.

It is the most important subject for organisms on Earth.

Also spreading awareness and knowledge about our fellow creatures is good for safety and will increase the general welfare of not only the human race, but also of all of the other creatures we share the planet with.

Thank you for the update of new information (to me at least).

Cracker spider? That's a joke right? I have never heard of such a spider.

Due to the response of some of the other members I am pretty sure it is a joke.

BTW, in Wyoming in the house where I lived there were TONS of brown spiders. Almost every day I would find one or two scurrying up the walls. At first I would capture them and released them until I realised most of them were just coming back inside the house so I just killed them whenever I saw one.

reply to post by ElectricUniverse


Yes the Cracker Spider is a joke. Cracker is derogatory slang for White people. It dates back to the slavery days.

in all fairness is will soon it will be changed to "C" word........... and of course Cracker will be removed from famous novels by Mark Twain.