This is an article about spiders that are continually blamed for bites, are the subject of myths, and the subject of fear. Hopefully, maybe, this can shed some light on critters that receive an undeserved reputation and help in public awareness.
Spiders are some of the most misunderstood critters we have in the U.S. People fear them for various reasons but I suppose mainly because they have eight legs, some are hairy, and they all have fangs to bite with. But honestly, spiders want nothing to do with humans, but fear and panic continues to thrive due to false information, over-exaggeration of facts, myths, and the media. It is true, however, that some spiders deserve more respect than others but all would prefer to be left alone by humans and none are out to get humans.
Hopefully this will help get rid of any myths, wives tales, or rumors regarding spiders. There seems to be a sort of public hysteria regarding them but there isn't any type of scientific data to back most of it up. So, that means that a good portion of the information that exists in society is false and a lot of it is just plain ridiculous.
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
First, let's start with the most commonly seen, daddy-longlegs. The first issue that needs to be cleared up is that there are two totally different critters that people refer to as "daddy-longlegs". One is a true spider while the other is not. The two are the Order
Opiliones and the Family
Pholcidae in the Order
Araneae.
First are the Order Opiliones because they are probably seen more often than Pholcidae. Opiliones in the scientific community are known as Harvestmen. Other common names are Daddy-long-legs, Granddaddy-long-legs, Opilionids, and Shepherd Spiders, among a few others.
Harvestmen are arachnids but they are
not spiders. As mentioned above Harvestmen are in the Order
Opiliones while spiders are in the Order
Araneae. One obvious difference between Harvestmen and spiders is that the body shape of Harvestmen
appears to be only one segment. However, Harvestmen, as well as spiders, actually have two main body segments, the cephalothorax (head end) and the abdomen (tail end). It's just that in Harvestmen the "junction" between the two parts is not nearly as distinct as in spiders and is usually not noticeable at all at first glance, so it appears as only one body segment. Another anatomical feature of Harvestmen that is also shared with spiders is that they both have eight legs, which is probably the main cause of confusion between the two. But, that is about where the similarities end. To start, Harvestmen have two eyes where spiders can have no eyes on up to eight. Harvestmen do not have silk glands so they cannot make webs but obviously spiders can make webs. Many species of Harvestmen are omnivorous and mainly eat insects and different kinds of plant material but will also eat fecal matter from birds and other critters. Another BIG difference between Harvestmen and spiders is the fact that Harvestmen have no fangs and consequently have no venom. All spiders possess fangs and venom, except the family Uloboridae (which does not possess venom and instead relies on extensively wrapping prey in silk). Harvestmen have what are called Chelicerae, which in spiders they are hollow in order to deliver venom but in Harvestmen they are primarily used to grasp food (see
here and
here). There is a
myth that Harvestmen are among the most venomous and toxic of all arachnids but that their fangs are to small to penetrate our skin. Obviously from the information presented here, on other websites, and in scientific literature, they CANNOT be among the most venomous and toxic of all arachnids if they have no fangs and no venom. So, Harvestmen are completely harmless to humans other than they can give off a foul smelling liquid as a defense mechanism.
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The Family
Pholcidae in the Order
Araneae are also sometimes called daddy-longlegs but are more correctly known as cellar spiders.
Cellar spiders are true spiders. They have a distinct cephalothorax and abdomen, eight eyes, eight legs, fangs and venom, and make webs. They are also often mistaken for the Brown Recluse spider. They both have a similar shape and similar color. However, the Brown Recluse does
not have the extremely long legs that Cellar spiders do and the Brown Recluse eye arrangement is different.
Below is a comparison between Cellar spiders and Brown Recluse spiders :
Brown Recluse Cellar spider
Brown Recluse Cellar spider
See below for more detail on the Brown Recluse. The Cellar spider also has a dark patch but the shape is not consistent nor is it distinctive. In the second set of pictures you can plainly see the difference in leg length as compared to the body. The Cellar spider has much longer legs in relation to it's body.
Also note that the range for the Brown Recluse is a lot less and doesn't cover near the area that the Cellar spider's range does. See ranges below.
Brown Recluse range
Cellar spider range
Differences between Harvestmen and Cellar spiders are
very obvious and the pictures below should speak for themselves :
Harvestman Cellar spider
Cellar spiders also resemble spitting spiders. But, again, spitting spiders do not have the leg length-to-body ratio that Cellar spiders do. From a distance the color of a spitting spider may resemble Cellar spiders but upon closer examination you will notice that the spitting spider has a distinctly mottled pattern to it's cephalothorax and the eye arrangements are quite a bit different. See comparison examples below :
Spitting spider Cellar spider
The Family
Pholcidae is a large group of spiders with numerous genera within the family. As with Harvestmen, there are several myths surrounding Cellar spiders. However, the difference is that Cellar spiders do indeed have fangs and can indeed inject venom. But the fangs of the Cellar spider are very small and it is not fully documented as to whether they can actually penetrate human skin or not. It is known though that they do not have strong jaw muscles, like the Brown Recluse for example. The Brown Recluse and Wolf spiders are hunters and actively track down prey and need to subdue it quickly whereas Cellar spiders prefer to sit and wait until something traps itself in their web then they can wrap it in additional web and deal with it at their leisure.
There is also a myth that Cellar spiders, like Harvestmen, are among the most deadly spiders in the world. This myth has absolutely no scientific basis whatsoever and I really can't understand how such a myth got started in the first place. First, assuming the spider can bite humans in the first place, the dose of venom would be so small that it's doubtful any reaction would occur. Also there is no scientific data to say exactly how toxic the venom is or how toxic it isn't. There has been no proven and documented cases of Cellar spider bites to humans and certainly none that have ever caused any reactions. You can read about this myth also on
this website. It says in part "
Daddy-longlegs spiders (Pholcidae) - Here, the myth is incorrect at least in making claims that have no basis in known facts. There is no reference to any pholcid spider biting a human and causing any detrimental reaction. If these spiders were indeed deadly poisonous but couldn't bite humans, then the only way we would know that they are poisonous is by milking them and injecting the venom into humans. For a variety of reasons including Amnesty International and a humanitarian code of ethics, this research has never been done. Furthermore, there are no toxicological studies testing the lethality of pholcid venom on any mammalian system (this is usually done with mice). Therefore, no information is available on the likely toxic effects of their venom in humans, so the part of the myth about their being especially poisonous is just that: a myth. There is no scientific basis for the supposition that they are deadly poisonous and there is no reason to assume that it is true."
Most spiders, these included, should be a welcome site as they get rid of many other insect pests.
This paper discusses the benefits of pholcids with regard to mosquito population control. All spiders play a large role in keeping other critters numbers in check.
Additional pholcid information can also be found on
this website.
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Next are
Wolf Spiders (Family Lycosidae).
Presumably, Wolf spiders are so named because, rather than spinning a web to capture prey, they actively stalk and hunt prey much like a wolf except Wolf spiders usually hunt at night. However, unlike real wolves, they do not hunt in packs. In fact, spiders in general are solitary creatures except when mating or when they have their young to tend to. Wolf spiders are usually, but not always, large and hairy with fairly big fangs. The fangs are larger, not because they are any more poisonous than any other spider, but because they hunt prey. When any creature relies on hunting, bringing down, and killing another creature for food, the fangs and/or mouth parts are usually relatively large, including fangs and the muscles that drive them. This is because they have to subdue the prey and then hold on to it, inject venom, and all the while the prey is struggling to get free. Spiders that spin webs to catch prey don't have these problems because the web holds the prey still while venom is injected, and so their fangs and the muscles that drive them don't need to be as robust.
Wolf spiders are large, hairy, and usually colored black, gray, or brown, or a patterned combination of these. Baby Wolf spiders hatch from eggs and look like a miniature adult and as with other spiders they molt, or shed their skin, as they grow larger. A lot of the Wolf spider species lay several dozen eggs, wrap them in a silk ball, then carry them around attached to the females abdomen. When they hatch they crawl up on the mother's back where they stay until they're big enough to hunt for themselves. Generally Wolf spiders tend to live for several years although I haven't read anything that gives a specific quantity of years.
The Wolf spider's size and appearance (hairy, big fangs) seems to be the thing that initially scares people about them. But also a fear factor is the spider's quickness and agility. Many people mistake it's desperate attempt to flee as an attack because it moves so fast and in any direction it can to escape. But this perception is grossly incorrect. Wolf spiders
do not attack people. One would probably bite you if you pick it up but only because the spider fears for it's well being and not because it is attacking you. If you were to be bitten by a Wolf spider it would probably feel no worse than a bee sting. Also, Wolf spider venom is not lethal to humans and probably would not cause a reaction in most people. However, as with any type of sting or bite, a lot of whether you have a reaction or not depends on your personal immune system and how it deals with the venom. For the most part bee stings pose no threat to the average person but some people have extreme reactions to them. By the same token, Wolf spider bites are not an issue for most people but some may experience adverse affects just due to how their immune system deals with it.
People sometimes confuse the Wolf spider with
Nursery Web Spiders - Family Pisauridae or vice versa. They do look similar, however, Wolf spiders are more stocky and sturdily built than Nursery Web spiders. Per the Pisauridae info page, Nursery Web spiders typically rest with legs flattened on substrate, carry their egg sacs by means of their jaws and pedipalps (instead of attaching them to their spinnerets like Wolf spiders do), and all eight eyes are approximately the same size, as opposed to wolf spiders (Lycosidae), where two eyes are more prominent. See the eye arrangements below.
Wolf spider eye arrangements
Nursery Web spider eye arrangements
Lycosidae vs. Pisauridae body shapes :
Wolfs
Nursery Webs
Apparently there is also some confusion between Wolf spiders and Brown Recluse spiders. I don't personally understand confusing the two but I have read several things where a Wolf has been mistaken for a Brown Recluse. See below for more detail on the Brown Recluse, they aren't nearly as sturdy built as Wolf spiders, and they are not hairy like Wolf spiders. Please see comparison photos below.
Wolfs
Brown Recluse
Wolf spiders are also often mistaken for Tarantulas. However, Tarantulas are much larger than Wolf spiders and their legs and abdomen are much more hairy. In the United States it is reported that Tarantulas can grow to be around 2" long body length and close to 6" leg spread. Wolf spiders are nowhere near this large. For Wolf spider and Tarantula comparison, see below.
Wolfs
Tarantulas
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Ok, up next is the
Brown Recluse - Loxosceles reclusa.
This spider has to be the most misunderstood spider there is. People seem to be in a complete panic over a spider that, by it's own name (recluse), is seldom ever seen, even in places where it is known to exist. I live in Oklahoma and here we call them Fiddlebacks, obviously due to the "fiddle" or "violin" shaped dark place on it's cephalothorax. Brown Recluse spiders do exist here and in untold numbers. They are in our houses, storage sheds, and barns and we live with them peacefully everyday. Bites from a Brown Recluse are very rare, however they do happen. And people that live in
proven Brown Recluse areas don't seem to have the hysteria that people that
do not live in proven Brown Recluse areas have. See Rick Vetter's Brown Recluse range map
here. If you live in an area that
does not appear on this range map then you
do not have Brown Recluse spiders in your area. Many, many skin lesions, ulcerations, and blisters are misdiagnosed as Brown Recluse spider bites by misinformed medical staff, further propagating the myth that the Brown Recluse exists in places where there is no scientific proof of their existence in those areas. Even in areas that the spiders are
known to exist, misdiagnoses by untrained medical staff causes improper treatment of other ailments because they are treating for a Brown Recluse bite instead of the real cause. Please see
this link for other possible causes of skin necrosis. People seem to
want to have Recluses for some reason and try to blame any skin irritation they might have on a Recluse.
It should also be noted that the Brown Recluse
should not be identified by the "violin" shape alone. There are far too many spiders with a similar marking that can be misidentified and/or mistaken for a Brown Recluse. A good way to identify them is by their eye arrangement, which may take a qualified expert to determine.
Below are some of the BugGuide discussions concerning the Brown Recluse.
Discussion 1
Discussion 2
Discussion 3
Discussion 4
Discussion 5
Discussion 6
Discussion 7
Below are links to other sites regarding the Brown Recluse.
Medical Myth
Myth: idiopathic wounds are often due to brown recluse
or other spider bites throughout the United States (PDF)
Quotes From A Missouri Physician Who Specialized In Brown Recluse Spider Bites
Myth of the Brown Recluse
Identifying and Misidentifying the Brown Recluse Spider
Brown Recluse and Other Recluse Spiders
How to Manage Pests
Warning on the Use of Chemicals
OkieCritter Brown Recluse video (my website)
Brown Recluse spiders are not the vicious killers people seem to want to make them out to be. They are not aggressive and definitely not out to get us. Be sure before assuming you have encountered a Brown Recluse that you are in the spider's range. Panic, misidentification, misinformation, and the propagation of myths continue to unjustly condemn the Recluse.
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Now, the dreaded
Widow - Genus Latrodectus....
Probably more commonly known, is the
Southern Black Widow - Latrodectus mactans
Black widows are typically jet black (although some can be a dark brown), with the distinguishing red or red-orange hourglass on the underside of the abdomen. As with most spiders, Widows are not aggressive but will bite in self defense or if a female is guarding an egg sac. Widow venom is
reported (although I can't find any absolute scientific proof of this) to be 15 times more toxic than a rattlesnake but since the fangs are so small only a small amount of venom is ever injected. The severity of a bite or reactions to a bite depends on the person, where they were bitten, how much venom was injected, and how sensitive the person is to the venom. According to
this website, "
The bite of a black widow spider initially may go unnoticed, but some people report a short stabbing pain. At first, there may be slight local swelling and two faint red spots, which are puncture points from the fangs. Pain soon begins and usually progresses from the bite site to finally localize in the abdomen and back. Severe cramping or rigidity may occur in the abdominal muscles. Other symptoms may include nausea, profuse perspiration, tremors, labored breathing, restlessness, increased blood pressure, and fever. Symptoms often diminish after a day or so and cease after several days. Serious long-term complications or death are very rare."
Other spiders are sometimes mistaken for Widows such as
But this particular spider is a jumping spider, is smaller than a widow, is much more hairy, does not have the hourglass on the underside of the abdomen, and of course the eye arrangement is completely different. Widows appear "slick" and a lot of times even look like they are wet due to their shiny exterior.
For more information please see :
BugGuide info
Ohio State fact sheet
National Geographic fact sheet
Widows, as with most other spiders, are not the killers that people make them out to be. Most spiders in general can be very beautiful with vibrant colors and artistic appearing webs. Their webs are much stronger than steel, pound for pound, which humans have yet to be able to duplicate. They are also extremely beneficial for pest control and insect population control in general. If all spiders were to disappear from the Earth we would be overrun with insects in a relatively short time. So, before you decide that you can't stand spiders, think about what would happen without them.
Before making hasty decisions or rash judgments, take time to learn about spiders. Understanding and education are the key to eliminating fear and persecution of these fabulous creatures.
