Description and photo of the sak spider (heyracantium)

The yellow sak spider or Heiracanthium is a typical representative of predators. It feeds on small insects - aphids, mites, caterpillars, moths. The most colorful species live in tropical countries with warm, humid climates. In the former CIS countries and Russia, the spider is found in the summer. Lives in the forest, in fields, forest edges, orchards, orchards, and city parks. The spread of the yellow spider was facilitated by climate change and hot, long summers.

Photo and description of appearance

The predatory sak spider is small in size. The body of an adult is only 10 mm. The limb span is 25 mm. Females are several times larger than males. The body consists of the abdomen and cephalothorax. Covered with a dense shell. 4 pairs of legs, forelimbs help to grab the prey and hold it during feeding.

The abdomen is bright yellow. Slightly darker than the paw. The cephalothorax is massive, red-brown in color. Powerful jaws, pointed and rounded at the end, catch the eye. With this piercing weapon, the predator breaks the shell, the chitinous cover of the victim, and then injects poison.

On a note!
There are 8 eyes on the head, which are clustered together, but the spider’s vision is poor. The organs of smell and touch located on the limbs help to navigate the environment. The golden sak spider senses the approach of a victim or enemy by vibrations in the air, web, and smell.

The male has a yellow-brown coat, not as bright as that of the females. The size of the spider, including its limbs, barely reaches 15 mm. The main mission is to fertilize the female. After which the arthropod dies.

A photo of the saka spider is located below. You can examine the features of the body structure, color, and powerful jaws of the predator.

Yellow spider sak

Biological characteristics

In official biological language, argiope belongs to the family of orb-weaving spiders. This family is characterized by the production of a large circular catch net with a pronounced spiral stabilimentum in the center. This section of the web is clearly visible in ultraviolet rays, which are distinguishable by many insects, and therefore the stablimentum is so attractive to various insects and beetles.

Reference! Stabilimentum - threads of the web that form a zigzag pattern.

Appearance

Cheiracanthium is usually pale in color with a yellowish or beige belly, and is relatively small in size, 5–10 mm. It has eight eyes, arranged in two rows, of approximately the same width.

Males are distinguished by elongated chelicerae. The oral apparatus is an internal recess, and the chelicerae have lateral projections.

Eight legs with two claws. The forelimbs are longer and 1.5 times longer than the spider’s body. The lower legs have a small number of spine-like growths.

The web-forming apparatus is represented by anterior and posterior warts. The second often includes an elongated apical segment.

The respiratory system is represented by pairs of lungs and tracheas. The spiracle is located in front of the arachnoid warts. The abdomen is oval in shape and slightly pointed at the end.

Appearance

According to the description, the Argiope spider really looks like a wasp or a zebra. The body of the arthropod clearly shows an alternation of black and yellow stripes, however, this is characteristic only of females. Males of this species are small and inconspicuous.

Argiope Brünnich spiders exhibit pronounced dimorphism. The female has a body size of 15-30 millimeters in length, while the male Argiope barely reaches half a centimeter.

Spreading

This striped black and yellow spider mainly inhabits the middle and southern regions of Europe and Russia. But recently, thanks to climate warming, argiope has begun to be found in the northern regions. There is information that our spider was seen in the Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod regions, and even further north.

Lifestyle

The usual colony of Argiope settles in forests or meadows. where there is a massive number of potential casualties. The number of one settlement is usually about two dozen spiders.

A yellow striped spider weaves its webs in the twilight evening. He spends no more than one hour making his trap. After the web is woven, its owner is placed in the center of the network and, taking the shape of the letter "X", awaits the victim.

It should be noted that the Argiope catching net is very beautiful; it is distinguished by the presence of a pronounced circular shape and small cells, through which even the smallest mosquito cannot break through.

Habitat

Distributed in South Africa, countries of East Asia, Australia and almost throughout Europe. Some species are found on the American continent.

The preferred habitat is shrubs and plant thickets, but it is possible to meet the spider among rocky terrain.

Rumors about bites from poisonous arthropods arrive with regularity. It was noted that each new signal is not limited to a single case, which indicates the preference of the genus Cheiracanthium to travel in flocks.

Nutrition

The zebra argiope spider feeds on the insects that fall into its web. These are mainly numerous Orthoptera, although various flies or mosquitoes often find themselves in the web. The spiders inject poison into them and entwine them with cobwebs, then they suck the juices from the victim’s body, which has begun to dissolve.

Diet and method of obtaining food

Heiracanthium is a night hunter. Hiding in leaves rolled into tubes, bushes, and sometimes among stones, the spider waits for its prey. The signal for a lightning attack comes after the insect touches one of the hunter’s legs.

The diet of Cheiracanthium has not been thoroughly studied, but it is known that this genus of arthropods feeds on small insects (caterpillars, aphids, moths, mites, etc.).

Reproduction

The female reaches the age of sexual reproduction after the last molt of her development. During mating, the female wraps a web around the male, and if he fails to get out, then his fate is unenviable - he will certainly be eaten.

And the female will then weave a large cocoon, into which she will place her numerous eggs, which she guards with the care of a loving mother.

At the beginning of autumn, the spiderlings emerge from the cocoon, and, being attached to the webs, are carried by the wind around the area, thus creating new colonies of spiders.

Attention! Flying webs during Indian summer, among other things, are a way for spiders to spread in open areas.

In other cases, the female can lay eggs, and there are up to a hundred of them in one cocoon, in late autumn, and the young spiders hatch and settle with the arrival of spring. The female herself does not overwinter, but, having laid eggs, dies.

Where is it found?

The genus Heiracanthium, to which the sak spider belongs, consists of 194 species, lives in Europe, Asia, Africa, and is found in Australia and America. In the post-Soviet space, a couple of decades ago, representatives of the clan were well known to residents of the southern regions - Central Asia, the Caucasus, Crimea, Krasnodar Territory and Rostov Region, steppe Ukraine. The abnormally hot summer of recent years has contributed to the fact that swarms of arthropods began to migrate northward. Now the poisonous spider can be found in the Moscow region, the Volga region, Southern Siberia, and throughout the middle zone.

Interesting! One of the ways of spreading of Heyracantium to the north is migration with vehicles. In search of a safe place, spiders often hide in the cracks of trucks; there have been cases of settlement among the fuel system pipes.

Why are they considered one of the ten most poisonous arachnids?

The bite of the yellow spider is not as terrible as, for example, the karakurt, but its poison is toxic. According to the first symptoms, it resembles the bite of a recluse spider, which not only causes panic in the victim, but also misleads doctors. By the way, most doctors in regions where the dangerous arachnid has appeared recently find it difficult to diagnose the bite.

What does a spider's web look like?

The spider does not spread its trapping nets in the form of a canvas, typical of many arachnids. Sak makes a bag out of dense web threads into which the victims are caught. A similar cocoon is weaved after fertilization to lay eggs. Often the web blocks the entrance to the shelter. The predator is engaged in weaving webs at night, and during the day it sits quietly in the chosen place.

origin of name

The black spider with a red hourglass on its abdomen is well known throughout the world, not only because of its extremely toxic venom, but also because of its lifestyle. Male and female meet only to mate during the mating season

It is important for the “boyfriend” to calculate the mood of his “passion” in advance. A hungry female will eat her partner even before he begins his mating games

If the spider is waiting for the male, he calmly approaches her and does his job.

The fate of the “man” directly depends on his physical condition, as well as on how well-fed the female is. If the widow suddenly gets hungry, she will eat the “suitor” in an instant. The same thing happens to a weakened spider that has mated with several female spiders. A strong male can crawl away safely, and then appear again for another mating.

The arthropod received its second name - black death - due to its strong poison. The widow injects a toxic substance when bitten. The spider's venom kills a horse in a few minutes; in the absence of timely qualified assistance, a person dies within half an hour.

Reproduction

The lifespan of a female is 1 year. The mating season begins in mid-summer, and towards the end the female lays eggs. For laying, it initially forms a cocoon-bag from its own web. At one time, the spider lays up to 600 eggs. The young take several weeks to develop. The female holds the cocoon near her, ensuring safe formation.

After birth, the cubs of the saka spider live with their mother for a long time. Initially, she provides them with food and teaches them to hunt. During the entire period of growing up, spiders go through up to 7 molts, each time increasing in size.

Interesting!
At the last stage, the genital organs are formed, the body acquires a characteristic color. Adult Cheiracanthiums eat the mother and begin to reproduce themselves.

Qualified assistance will be provided in the hospital

Treatment begins with antidotes - serums. Patients who have allergies or hypersensitivity are given an antihistamine. Further actions of the physician are aimed at eliminating the symptoms:

Those bitten are given medicines to normalize the excretory system and to reduce body temperature. Positive changes in the victim’s health are noticeable after 4-6 days.

A dangerous karakurt bite, prevention and treatment of which will take at least 3 weeks, can cause complications:

Preventive monitoring of the patient for 2 weeks after discharge will help to exclude the occurrence of irreversible changes.

Nutrition, lifestyle of a spider

The yellow golden sak is nocturnal and hides in secluded places during the day. Caterpillars, aphids, and moths become its food. The spider waits for them in the shelter, and then attacks with lightning speed. With its powerful jaws, the spider gnaws through the chitinous cover and injects poison.

Yellow spider sak

The toxic substance affects the nervous system and paralyzes the muscles of the insect. The predator injects saliva into the wound, which liquefies the insides of the prey into a broth and leaves the prey for several minutes. After some time, the spider returns, sucks out the insides, leaving only a chitinous covering of the insect. The same fate awaits an insect caught in a web.

First aid for bites

At the slightest suspicion of a poisonous spider bite, you should call an ambulance and provide first aid to the victim. First of all, it is necessary to wash off the remnants of the toxic substance, slow down the spread of the poison through the bloodstream, and relieve the symptoms of an allergic reaction. The choice of first aid depends on where the attack occurred. If you are at home, a home first aid kit will do; if you are outdoors, you will have to use improvised materials. So:

Thoroughly rinse the bite from any remaining poison with running, mineral or spring water. Use laundry soap at home. Disinfect the wound with alcohol, ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, vodka or any alcohol infusion

Local reactions

Local reactions occur after an attack by any spider. And the inflamed areas are treated in the same way: first, they are washed with clean water and soap, then treated with a disinfectant solution.

In case of severe inflammation, you can treat with Bepanten cream, lubricating the affected area with it at least 4 times a day. If the bite site begins to itch, you should see a dermatologist. In some cases, it may be necessary to administer antitetanus serum. If tissue necrosis has begun, necrotic areas are removed surgically.

But what to do if a rash appears after a spider attack? Most likely, an allergic reaction has manifested itself, which can only be weakened with the help of an antihistamine (Suprastin, Edema, etc.).

Systemic reactions

Treatment of systemic reactions following a spider bite includes:

As with any allergy, medications are prescribed to alleviate the patient’s condition and stop the development of dangerous conditions:

Muscle spasms

The initial task is to wash away the remnants of the poison, prevent it from spreading through the blood, and reduce the symptoms of an allergic reaction. The choice of first aid depends on the location where the event occurred. If a spider bites you at home or in the immediate vicinity, you can use a home first aid kit; in the wild, improvised materials are used.

First aid for a bite

To prevent the spread of poison through the blood after a bite from a poisonous predator, a tourniquet is applied over the wound or a bandage is made from a bandage or improvised materials.

Is sak poisonous or not?

The yellow spider Heiracanthium has poisonous glands and injects a toxic substance into the wound of the victim. For a person, the dose of poison is extremely small, so there is no danger to life. A predator rarely attacks people when they encroach on its own life. However, the likelihood of being bitten increases if the spider gets under clothing or is accidentally crushed by a bare foot or hand.

After a bite, unpleasant symptoms appear:

pain;
burning;
redness;
edema;
blisters;
suppuration.

For days the bite site hurts and burns. The next day, the painful sensations are replaced by itching.

People prone to allergies, with weakened immune systems, and young children may develop general symptoms of intoxication.

headache;
weakness;
difficulty breathing;
vomit;
abdominal pain;
cardiopalmus;
increased blood pressure;
change in body temperature.

Local symptoms disappear on their own after a few days; if there are signs of intoxication, you should consult a specialist. The likelihood of a severe allergy increases if the spider has bitten repeatedly or there have been several of them. There have been no recorded deaths following a saka bite.

On a note!
If you find a Heiracanthium spider in the house, you should not make sudden movements or try to crush it. The arthropod jumps well and instantly delivers a bite with its powerful jaws. Initially, you should cover the predator with a jar, bucket, or any container that comes to hand. Carefully cover with a sheet of paper, take it outside, and shake off the container. If you decide to kill a predator, spray it with any insecticide.

Do Argiopes bite?

There is a category of people who definitely need to stick their hand somewhere: into an anthill, into a bee hive or a wasp’s nest. Such inquisitive characters do not ask questions about whether certain representatives of the fauna bite; they can experience everything first-hand.

For the rest, we inform you that if you put your hand into a web, intentionally or accidentally, the spider will immediately react and bite. The sting of argiope is quite painful and comparable to that of a bee or aspen. The fact is that the wasp spider has quite strong jaws, and it is able to bury them quite deeply under the skin. In addition, do not forget about its poison.

Many people ask whether Argiope Brunnich is poisonous or not? Of course it is poisonous, because with its poison it kills its victims. Another thing is that in most cases this poison is practically not dangerous for humans.

The consequences of careless spider testing on reaction speed can be different. Most adults experience slight swelling of the skin around the bitten area, which disappears after an hour or two and does not even itch

In some cases, redness and swelling may subside only after a day, and the bite site itself may be very itchy.

It’s another matter if a spider bites a child or a person with an increased allergic reaction to the spider’s venom or the fact of the bite itself. In this case, there may be more pronounced dangerous symptoms:

severe swelling of the bite site;
increase in body temperature to 40-41 degrees;
nausea;
dizziness.

In this case, naturally, you need to immediately interrupt your walk and immediately contact the nearest medical facility or ambulance substation, where the person will be provided with competent emergency medical care.

We present a video of how the Argiope spider sucks out its prey. The stablimentum is clearly visible in the center of the web:

Benefit

The poisonous spider is recognized as an active destroyer of agricultural pests. During the season, one small female eats more than 2 thousand caterpillars, adult moths, and aphids. Nobody specially lets yellow sakas into the territory, but if they appear, they are in no hurry to use insecticides. Spiders cause little harm to humans; people suffer through negligence. But the benefits for the environment are enormous. Predators regulate the number of harmful insects that eat plants, crops, and trees.

Danger to humans

All real spiders are poisonous, otherwise they would not be able to absorb food. But few of them are dangerous to humans. Representatives of the Lycosidae family cause fear with their size and appearance, so it is not without reason that they are included in the rating of the most terrible spiders. But whether wolf spiders are poisonous or not is a relative question. Among them are species of varying degrees of toxicity. It is common to fear tarantulas, which even gave rise to the Tarantella dance, according to legend.

In fact, the toxicity of this family of arthropods living in temperate climates has been greatly exaggerated. The bite causes local irritation, characterized by short-term pain, itching and redness.

Tropical species are more dangerous. Their bites cause:

edema;
prolonged pain;
dizziness;
nausea;
rapid pulse.

The bite is also not fatal, but to alleviate the consequences, you should consult a doctor.

Brown Widow / Latrodectus geometricus

You can meet her in large areas of the United States. Large populations live in the Middle East: Israel and Turkey. They settled in Asia, Africa and on the island of Madagascar.

Has a bright color. They can be distinguished from non-venomous individuals by the hourglass pattern on their body. They often crawl into residential buildings and outbuildings. They have a calm disposition, but in case of danger they become aggressive. Little venom is injected into the bite, but there have been several fatalities following brown widow attacks in Madagascar.

Treatments at home

What people call spider bites are often misdiagnosed, usually as a result of other skin conditions or infections.

Tick bites, viral, fungal and bacterial infections, drug reactions, and skin complications from diabetes are common causes of similar skin reactions.

People can usually treat real spider bites at home. If possible, people should collect and identify the spider responsible.

Do this by trapping the spider under a clear cup or jar so that the spider is clearly visible and slowly slide a piece of paper under the container. Turn the container over and secure the paper on top or install the lid.

If someone is bitten, they should clean the wound with mild soap and water.

If the sting causes discomfort, elevate it if possible and apply a cold compress or closed ice pack to reduce swelling and pain.

Pain relievers such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen may help reduce discomfort. An antihistamine such as Benadryl may also help with any itching.

Bishop's Widow / Latrodectus bishopi

One of the most common types of black widows. Just as dangerous as all other species. The small black spider lives in limited areas in Florida. Has a bright color. The cephalothorax is reddish-orange, and the abdomen is dark with yellow rings.

They hide under the leaves, so you need to be extremely careful not to step on a poisonous creature. Death will not come from poison, but it will cause trouble. The bite is accompanied by severe swelling, dizziness, and nausea. In some cases, convulsions begin.

Karakurt

The list of the most dangerous spiders in nature undoubtedly includes the steppe inhabitant with the frightening name Karakurt and red spots on the back. They settle far from places where people live, and attack only in moments of danger, for the purpose of self-defense. These are the most dangerous spiders in Russia.

The poison can easily kill a large mammal. Pets are often their victims. Doctors have recorded cases of people being bitten by karakurts. The bite is painful and is accompanied by redness of the bite site, dizziness, and shortness of breath. Without timely help, a person bitten by karakurt can die.

Chinese tarantula

The large tarantula contains a toxic poison in its glands, which infects its victims. The habitat is limited to some regions of Southeast Asia.

Chinese tarantulas grow up to 20 cm. Their appearance can frighten even a very brave person. A small concentration of venom can cause death to the person bitten. Chinese scientists, conducting experiments on mice, found an antidote. But a dangerous spider opened the door to tragedies when a baby died from its bite.

Interesting Facts

The male black widow is significantly smaller than the female. It is not dangerous to humans as it produces only small amounts of poison. The claws on the male's chelicerae are too small to pierce human skin.
Karakurts were successfully bred at the London Zoo, where males mated with females many times and remained alive.
There is an opinion that a black widow always eats the male after mating, but this does not always happen. The emergence of such an assumption is due to the fact that after several matings the male becomes so weakened that he is often near death. At this time, he cannot escape from the female, and the female eats him.
In Europe, there is a karakurt, called by the Italians mal-mignatta. The Italian name has been adopted into several other languages. A karakurt bite is not as dangerous and painful as the bites of tropical species of spiders, but the consequences are noticeable for up to 3 weeks.

Video

Sources

https://thewildlife.ru/bespozvonochnye/pauk-chernaya-vdova/ https://www.popmech.ru/science/405802-za-chto-samka-pauka-chernaya-vdova-sedaet-samca/https:// stopvreditel.ru/yadovitye/pauki/chernaya-vdova.html https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_widow