How does the spider karakurt

The species from the family of spiders-tenetnik enjoys not quite deserved sad glory. The spider karakurt received such fame for the reason that there are much more dangerous and poisonous arachnid species. But in the Soviet Union, it has long been considered the most poisonous in the world. There was then no developed means of communication and people knew little about the fauna of other continents and countries.

Description

Karakurt spider (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus) belongs to the genus of black widows.The name has a Turkic origin and is used in the territory of the CIS and adjacent countries of Central Asia. The first part of the word "Kara" does not cause discrepancies and means "black." The second part is usually translated as a "worm". And in this there are doubts. Depending on how the first letter of the word “Kurt” is spelled in the Latin alphabet: k or q, the meaning of the word changes. In addition to the "worm", it can mean "beetle" or "wolf." The last two names are more suitable spider.

On a note!

In Europe, tracing from the Latin name is more popular: a thirteen-point widow. This name is based on the appearance of Asian karakurt.

Area

Karakurts are steppe spiders who prefer dry terrain with warm winters. The territories inhabited by Karakurt occupy the entire dry belt of the Eurasian continent: from Spain to the steppe part of China.

In Russia, the northern limit of the spread of karakurt is 50 ° c. sh. But in the hot summer these spiders were met to the north. They even came across the shores of Lake Onega.

Interesting!

With a high degree of probability, arthropods did not penetrate to the north themselves, but with the help of man. They cannot settle down there and die in winter.

In Central Asia, 3 types of karakurt live in the same territory at once:

• thirteen-point (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus);
• Karakurt Dahl (Latrodectus dahli);
• white (Latrodectus pallidus).

Types of karakurt spider

Thirteen-point is divided into 2 subspecies: Asian and European. The second name of the latter is a European widow.

Appearance

Karakurts are medium sized spiders. The body of the female is from 1 to 2 cm long. The male is only 4-7 mm in size. The female has a very large, almost spherical abdomen and long paws protruding from under it. In the photo of the karakurt spider you can see that he has 8 walking legs and the longest are the first and the last pair. On the back surface of the abdomen are spider warts, through which the silk thread is released into the external environment.

The head and chest appears very small compared to the body. But the spider has very powerful chelicera, intended for cutting through the chitinous shell of a large locust.

Internal structure

In this regard, karakurt does not stand out among other spiders. In the city center are located:

• poisonous gland;
• esophagus;
• sucking stomach;
• gastric outgrowths;
• front aorta.

The heart of the spider is in the abdomen, like all other organs:

• liver;
• ostia;
• posterior aorta;
• intestines;
• spider gland;
• trachea;
• female ovaries.

The genital opening and seminal receptacle are located on the lower side of the abdomen, closer to the cephalothorax.

Color

The European and Asian subspecies Latrodectus tredecimguttatus differ from each other in the color of the spots on the abdomen. The Asian has a large red spots in the amount of 13 pieces. Sometimes these spots are outlined with a white border. The European subspecies have weak white spots. Both subspecies coexist on the same territory and often interbreed.

On the territory of Central Asia, the Latrodectus tredecimguttatus shares its range with two other species: Dara karakurt and white karakurt. Photos and descriptions of these spiders coincide almost completely. Exception - color. Karakurt Dahl - black without any marks. White karakurt is the only light representative of the black widows family and the color of its abdomen is really white. The head of the chest is light brown.

Spider karakurt

On a note!

White Karakurt is the least poisonous member of the black widows family.

Lifestyle

Karakurt can hunt both at night and in the daytime. They weave their cobwebs not in the correct form, like the orb-web spiders, but in an indiscriminate heap of traps. The web is also oriented not like other tenetics - vertically, but in a horizontal plane.The main prey for spiders is locusts and grasshoppers. These invertebrates usually travel on the ground. Horizontally located near the habitat of arthropods, the web is better suited for catching such a game. Karakurt himself can wait for the victim, having settled in a shelter above the cobweb. For housing karakurt chooses burrow of rodents or vents of ventilation systems.

On a note!

Karakurt fertile. The female can lay 1000-1300 eggs per year. Once in 10-20 years there is an outbreak of arthropods.

Life karakurt less than a year. The juveniles released in April become capable of breeding in June. At this time, the spiders begin to migrate, looking for secluded, sheltered places. In shelters, they weave temporary nets for mating.

After fertilization, the female eats the male and goes in search of a suitable place where she can lay eggs. Having found a suitable shelter, the spider hangs 2-4 cocoons with eggs in it. In April, the young hatched scatters into new habitats on cobwebs.

False Karakurt

In the same area, that is, throughout Eurasia, spiders live, similar to karakurt in appearance and size.These are spider-netlets from the same family Theridiidae, as karakurt. But they belong to the genus steatod. Since steatods look almost like karakurt, they received the unofficial name of “false widows”.

On a note!

The large steatoda (Steatoda grossa) has pale light spots on its abdomen, similar to the color of the European subspecies of karakurt.

The color of the abdomen at the steatod can be:

• with beige or white spots;
• with a thin red line covering the belly along;
• with a yellow stripe on the back;
• with small red spots.

False Karakurt

Because of the latter, the steatod is taken for a poisonous spider karakurt. But the steatod is not so poisonous, and its bite does not entail serious consequences. According to the initial signs: aggravated pain, sometimes nausea and headache - the effect of the poison steatods and karakurt is similar. This also makes it difficult to distinguish one spider from another. But the organism can recover from the poison of steatods on its own in a few days.

Bite Symptoms and First Aid

The karakurt male is not dangerous for humans, as it is not capable of biting through the skin. The female bites to a depth of 0.5 mm. The venom of these arthropods rarely leads to death, especially after the appearance of anti-black ink serum, but the mass of unpleasant sensations to the victim is provided.

Females are not aggressive and attack only when threatened.But they can be considered a threat by accidental grazing on the web.

On a note!

Camels and horses are especially sensitive to poison.

But the sheep can be used as anti-weapons weapons. They are insensitive to poison, and spiders nest in their pastures.

Symptoms

The effect of poison instantly. Burning pain appears on the site of the bite of karakurt, which spreads throughout the body for 10-15 minutes. There are very severe pains in the chest, abdomen and lower back. There is a spasm of the abdominal muscles. There are signs of general body poisoning:

• rapid pulse;
• heartbeat;
• dyspnea;
• vomiting;
• tremor of the limbs;
• pallor or, on the contrary, the face reddens due to blood flow;
• heaviness in the chest area;
• dilated pupils;
• uncontrolled movement of the eyeball;
• men have priapism;
• bronchial spasm.

On a note!

Later you may notice a delay in urination and bowel movements. In the later stages, nervous excitement is replaced by severe depression. Perhaps the appearance of delusions and clouding of consciousness. Death is rare, but it cannot be ruled out.

Treatment and first aid

The treatment is carried out in stationary conditions.In the absence of anticancer serum, novocaine, magnesia and calcium chloride are administered intravenously. The victim still needs to be taken to the hospital, and for this you need to know what to do if you bit a karakurt somewhere far from civilization.

First aid can be provided only during the first 2 minutes. The affected area is cauterized by a burning match. Under the influence of heat, the poison is destroyed. But even in this case, the victim must be taken to hospital as soon as possible.