Help me know if this kills people or not.

Little Grey Spider

Arachnoknight
Joined
May 14, 2017
Messages
262
Sorry, my "if the poster didn't even know it was an orb weaver" was NOT meant as an insult :happy:. Even being intelligent, articulate and seemingly well educated doesn't mean he/she could tell an orb weaver from a grass spider. Being able to ID a spider to family is not a common skill. I mean, on here it is, but even my doctor couldn't tell a wolf spider from an orb weaver from a recluse... and he's wicked smahhhhht. I'd imagine that for most of the population who AREN'T arachnid enthusiasts a spider is a spider is a spider. Just wanted to clear it up that I wasn't trying to cut anyone down. ;)
 

Ungoliant

Malleus Aranearum
Staff member
Joined
Mar 7, 2012
Messages
4,096
Google is so full of misinformation ESPECIALLY when it comes to "Is this spider dangerous or poisonous" kind of searches because much of it is written by people who a. have no idea what they're talking about or b. are trying to sell a service (e.g. spider traps or pest control).
And that's if you have a correct ID to Google. Identifying spiders from pictures on the Web is a long shot for people who aren't familiar with spiders, because they don't know which features are important. They tend to focus too much on coloring/markings and not enough on anatomy, behavior, and geographic location.

Additional commentary by Rod Crawford on this topic:
 
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Jason Arthur Taylor

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 28, 2017
Messages
8
Thanks everyone again for all the kind help and feedback.

Well, getting a new pet is always an interesting experience. I must confess that our relationship started off a little rocky. He was staying out in his web during the day. (Unlike the description for this species.) Eventually, I had a sudden and surprising need to go through where the web was, and I totally forgot. I felt the web in my hair and, in fear, instinctively schreaked as I tore off a corner of his web.

But, after only this one incident, the spider has learned to

(1) avoid being in his web during the day and
(2) avoid making webs on the doorknob-side of the door.

If only dogs and cats were so easy to train!!! Currently, I feed him by turning on a light which attracts moths. With all the bugs I fed him, it is amazing he isn't fat already.

DSCF1094.JPG DSCF1091.JPG DSCF1062.JPG DSCF1060.JPG DSCF1083.JPG DSCF1097.JPG DSCF1076.JPG DSCF1071.JPG DSCF1079.JPG
 

Little Grey Spider

Arachnoknight
Joined
May 14, 2017
Messages
262
Did you ever get a better ID on it? I know you mentioned Neoscona oaxacensis (western spotted orb), but it looks more like crucifera in pic 8. :)

And I think we can safely call her a "she" ;)
 

Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
Joined
Jan 15, 2017
Messages
675
Thanks everyone again for all the kind help and feedback.

Well, getting a new pet is always an interesting experience. I must confess that our relationship started off a little rocky. He was staying out in his web during the day. (Unlike the description for this species.) Eventually, I had a sudden and surprising need to go through where the web was, and I totally forgot. I felt the web in my hair and, in fear, instinctively schreaked as I tore off a corner of his web.

But, after only this one incident, the spider has learned to

(1) avoid being in his web during the day and
(2) avoid making webs on the doorknob-side of the door.

If only dogs and cats were so easy to train!!! Currently, I feed him by turning on a light which attracts moths. With all the bugs I fed him, it is amazing he isn't fat already.

View attachment 250894 View attachment 250895 View attachment 250896 View attachment 250897 View attachment 250898 View attachment 250899 View attachment 250900 View attachment 250901 View attachment 250902
Looks decently fat to me, actually:)

Always neat when the spider finds its home in yours. There's sort of a unique feeling when you have a spider that is free to wander off at will, but chooses to stay with you. It's there voluntarily:)

Even as a biologist who knows that the spider is just there because there's tons of food and probably ideal conditions (temperature, etc), I can't help but feel some warm fuzzies when this sort of thing happens.... haha;)

Have fun with your new friend. And welcome to the forum!
 

basin79

ArachnoGod
Active Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2013
Messages
5,893
This is what the media do. Or at least they do here (UK) regarding spiders. It's absolutely disgusting the hysteria they are allowed to promote.

It's like sharks. Cows kill more humans a year than sharks do but it doesn't stop the media writing absolutely disgusting stories on them every year.
 

Duriana

Arachnoknight
Joined
Apr 23, 2017
Messages
198
This is what the media do. Or at least they do here (UK) regarding spiders. It's absolutely disgusting the hysteria they are allowed to promote.

It's like sharks. Cows kill more humans a year than sharks do but it doesn't stop the media writing absolutely disgusting stories on them every year.
Agreed. Also mosquitoes kill more people than spiders and sharks combined.
 

spotropaicsav

Arachnobaron
Joined
Apr 3, 2017
Messages
431
Thanks everyone again for all the kind help and feedback.

Well, getting a new pet is always an interesting experience. I must confess that our relationship started off a little rocky. He was staying out in his web during the day. (Unlike the description for this species.) Eventually, I had a sudden and surprising need to go through where the web was, and I totally forgot. I felt the web in my hair and, in fear, instinctively schreaked as I tore off a corner of his web.

But, after only this one incident, the spider has learned to

(1) avoid being in his web during the day and
(2) avoid making webs on the doorknob-side of the door.

If only dogs and cats were so easy to train!!! Currently, I feed him by turning on a light which attracts moths. With all the bugs I fed him, it is amazing he isn't fat already.

View attachment 250894 View attachment 250895 View attachment 250896 View attachment 250897 View attachment 250898 View attachment 250899 View attachment 250900 View attachment 250901 View attachment 250902
I can see you two have bonded!:happy:
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,044
A parallel could be drawn between mosquitoes and some spiders in that they are both vectors with spider bites bearing various bacteria. This is rather rare however, and demonstrates how ineffective the average spider is when it comes to biting humans. MRSA and some similar strains are hyper infectious where the diseases born by mosquitoes takes a rather effective flying hypodermic needle with a penchant of poking multiple victims to facilitate the spread of diseases.
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
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Messages
11,044
For the record, I fear mosquitos! Their bites become softball-sized on me.
This by the way, demonstrates an anaphylactic reaction. The localized swelling and itching is not normally caused by the mosquitoes saliva but the body's reaction to it. The immune system varies from person to person, thus the reason some people have no adverse physiological reaction to mosquito bites while others have extreme reactions. This may also vary in a person, often with anaphylaxis becoming more pronounced with age. Or occasionally, less.
 

Duriana

Arachnoknight
Joined
Apr 23, 2017
Messages
198
This by the way, demonstrates an anaphylactic reaction. The localized swelling and itching is not normally caused by the mosquitoes saliva but the body's reaction to it. The immune system varies from person to person, thus the reason some people have no adverse physiological reaction to mosquito bites while others have extreme reactions. This may also vary in a person, often with anaphylaxis becoming more pronounced with age. Or occasionally, less.
Just wondering, why are certain people more prone to mosquito bites than others? I noticed when ever I go outside I end up getting much more bites than other people, plus they swell up.
 

Jason Arthur Taylor

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 28, 2017
Messages
8
A parallel could be drawn between mosquitoes and some spiders in that they are both vectors with spider bites bearing various bacteria. This is rather rare however, and demonstrates how ineffective the average spider is when it comes to biting humans. MRSA and some similar strains are hyper infectious where the diseases born by mosquitoes takes a rather effective flying hypodermic needle with a penchant of poking multiple victims to facilitate the spread of diseases.
But even MRSA isn't really in spiders:


Send to



J Med Entomol. 2006 Sep;43(5):962-5.
Common house spiders are not likely vectors of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections.
Baxtrom C1, Mongkolpradit T, Kasimos JN, Braune LM, Wise RD, Sierwald P, Ramsey KH.
Author information

Abstract
There is an increasing incidence in the number of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in the United States. Skin and soft tissue infections caused by MRSA are often perceived as being preceded by a spider bite. Several possibilities exist to explain this phenomenon, including 1) spiders introduce MRSA into the bite wound and thereby serve as a potential vehicle or vector for MRSA; 2) MRSA colonization is an event secondary to the spider bite; and 3) the spider bite is a misguided way for patients or their physicians to explain the initial lesion of their skin or soft tissue infection. We hypothesized that if spiders were able to serve as vehicles or vectors for MRSA infections, they would be colonized with this pathogen. To test this hypothesis, we captured common household spiders and determined the patterns of normal microbial flora isolated from them. Spiders were collected from several homes by their occupants, photographed for identification, and cultured for external and internal microbial flora. Of > 100 spiders collected, none was found to carry Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA. Relatively low numbers of microbial flora were isolated, and only a single isolate with pathogenic potential in humans (Aeromonas spp.) was isolated. Common house spiders are unlikely to be a source of MRSA.

PMID:

17017234
[Indexed for MEDLINE]
 

Jason Arthur Taylor

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 28, 2017
Messages
8
Duriana, I think the reason some people swell up more than others is probably because the immune systems have to "learn" to associate pathogens with mosquito saliva. So, the more bites that a person gets with infected mosquitoes that contain some sort of pathogen, the more likely a person's immune system is to play the match game and to go into overdrive to cause swelling. The swelling, meanwhile, to address The Snark's comment, isn't at all worthless. Rather, it increases the water content around cells, allowing faster and enhanced access to cytokines and other defenses of your immune system. Doctors and the affiliated MICs (i.e., Medical Industrial Complex), of course, sell all sorts of things to reduce swelling, but almost all of these are actually bad for you in the long run. Exceptions include bee sting medication, since bees of course don't actually contain any real infective pathogens to speak of.
 
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The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
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@Jason Arthur Taylor Thanks very much for that update. I'm chagrined. I see I gave way to media hype here, being removed from a clinical environment. And to think I once headed up an infection control committee.
Not at all surprised Aeromonas is in the works. It is a constant concern and watch for in hospitals, especially hydrotherapy environs.
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
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Messages
11,044
Duriana, I think the reason some people swell up more than others is probably because the immune systems have to "learn" to associate pathogens with mosquito saliva. So, the more bites that a persons gets with infected mosquitoes that contain some sort of pathogen, the more likely a person's immune system is play the match game and to go into overdrive to cause swelling. The swelling, meanwhile, to address The Snark's comment, isn't at all worthless. Rather, it increases the water content around cells, allowing faster and enhanced access to cytokines and other defenses of your immune system. Doctors and the affiliated MICs (i.e., Medical Industrial Complex), of course, sell all sorts of things to reduce swelling, but almost all of these are actually bad for you in the long run. Exceptions include bee sting medication, since bees of course don't actually contain any real infective pathogens to speak of.
That 'match game'. A clinical nightmare as Dengue so aptly demonstrates.
Anaphylactic symptoms. I glanced through a journal article a while ago that listed numerous benefits to the itching and swelling reaction. Even the simple action of scratching the itch facilitating immune system responses. As our entomologists here succinctly put it, go ahead and scratch, within reason. It will reduce the reaction faster. (We have a battle royal going between two medical camps here in mosquito hell. The treatment with medications v let nature do it's job. No clear winner in sight.
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
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Exactly. Just be ready to endure 5 minutes of advice to the contrary in case anyone catches you.
I could go on for days about that. Here we have east meets west medicine wise, and I'm a medical access coordinator caught square in the middle. Then to make matters much worse, we have some very shoddy, only-in-it-for-the-money physicians. I once sat in a clinic waiting room for 2 hours, observing. 54 patients were seen, 32 of which were sent out the door with a fistful of erythromycin.

I wish I had saved or bookmarked that article on localized anaphylactic reactions. It was an in depth 10 page analysis of what all is going on beneath that swollen red itchy bump. Admittedly it required a degree in immunology with maybe a side dish of endocrinology to sort through it.
 
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