Page 18 - 2008 DT 12 issues

Spider Myths may often look like spiders, “camel There is no such thing as a “poison-
spider” is a catch-all common term ous” spider, either, although all have
for solpugids (or solifugids), a type of venom which is used to subdue in-
ccording to Rod Crawford, non-spider arachnid found in desert re- sects prior to eating them. Many be-
Curator of Arachnids at the gions. Soldiers returning from the Gulf lieve that some spiders are deadly,
ABurke Museum of Natural War, and more recently Iraq, brought but Crawford insists that “there is no
History and Culture at the University with them stories of giant, aggressive spider species anywhere that can be
of Washington in Seattle, “Everything “camel spiders” that anesthetize sleep- properly called deadly,” even though
that everybody knows about spiders ing victims, inflicting a venomous, some few people may have died from
. . . is wrong!” Crawford has spent flesh-eating bite. These “huge” camel spider venom. The venom of a black
most of his thirty-plus years studying spiders are described as the size of a widow spider can cause death in rare
spiders. A visit to the museum’s Spider man’s forearm, able to jump 6 feet, run cases involving small children, the elderly
Myth Site (http://www.washington.edu/ (shrieking) at speeds up to 25 miles per or the sick, but even then, death occurs
burkemuseum/spidermyth/index.html) hour or more, and either
reveals his frustration at what passes lay eggs under a camel’s
for “general knowledge” with regard skin or disembowel them.
to arachnids. Patiently, and (perhaps) Take your pick.
wearily, he debunks the many myths “Solpugids (possi-
perpetuated unwittingly by websites bly excepting one spe-
and other media dealing with “insects.” cies in India) have no
Crawford, no longer willing to endure venom, not even an an-
the tall tales and misinformation, has esthetic, nor any means
decided to set the record straight. of delivering a venom
The spider myth-versus-fact tu- even if they had any, and
torial begins with ‘SPIDERS ARE are strictly predatory on
NOT INSECTS’!! Insects belong smaller creatures,” says
to the Class Insecta, while spiders Rod Crawford. The so-
belong to the Class Arachnida. called camel spider is solpugid (or solifugid)
“Arachnids are as distant from in- fast, “but not that fast.”
sects, as birds are from fish. It re- Crawford could only in less than five percent of these cases.
ally is not a trivial distinction”! verify speeds of less than one mile per When it comes to identifying that
The eleven different orders of hour. Still, soldiers have continued to spider lurking in the corner, don’t even
arachnids represent several types of write him contending that the legend of try. Physicians, exterminators and en-
scorpions, as well as harvestmen, the camel spider is true, “although not tomologists (unless they are also
mites and ticks, solpugids, spiders and one has been able to provide the names arachnologists) don’t have the skills
more. Arachnids have eight legs, while or serial numbers” of stricken friends. to identify spiders. With over 50,000
insects have only six but you can’t “al- “That’s how urban legends work.” species of spiders among over 100
ways tell a spider because it has eight Spiders seem to be convenient families, identification is a daunting
legs.” And about those webs—there are scapegoats for various crimes com- task, even for an expert.
four major types, (sheet webs, funnel mitted upon humans. They are almost Two of the most maligned species
webs, cobwebs and orb webs) but only universally considered to be a danger are the tarantula and the brown recluse,
half of all known spider species make to children and pets. Yet a spider has both billed as “deadly.” Wild tarantulas
webs. Some spiders are active hunters, no reason to bite a human or any other may bite if handled, but outside of Hol-
while others sit in ambush waiting to animal too large for it to eat. In over 30 lywood this “largest-of-all spiders” is
pounce on a meal. years of handling “tens of thousands of essentially the spider version of a pussy
Many spider myths are just plain live spiders,” Crawford has only been bit- cat. None of the North America spe-
ridiculous. Take, for instance, the case ten twice. Few spider species carry venom cies kept as pets pose even a mild bite
of the camel spider. Although they harmful to humans or dogs and cats. hazard. And although a few tropical

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