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Harmless spiders: 6 non-poisonous arthropods

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Arachnophobia is one of the most common human phobias. This is not surprising, because the eight-legged poisonous arthropods are rightfully among the most terrible creatures on earth. However, despite the unpleasant appearance, not all spiders are dangerous to humans.

Why do spiders need poison

Poisonous substances are used by spiders not only for self-defense. Spider toxins have two main tasks.

Prey immobilization. Almost all types of spiders are predators, and in order to calmly deal with the caught victim, they first of all do everything to deprive it of the ability to move. Arachnids inject a portion of toxins into the body of the prey, which paralyze it or deprive it of control over its own body.
Digestion of food. Spiders are inherent in the external digestion of food and their digestive organs are designed only for liquid food. The substances that make up their toxin simply dissolve the internal organs and tissues of the bitten victim, and then the spider calmly sucks in the finished “broth”.

Are there non-poisonous spiders?

The vast majority of representatives of the order of spiders are capable of producing dangerous poison and there are no completely non-poisonous spiders. However, the toxicity of the poison in different species can be very different. In most cases, the substances produced by these arthropods do not pose a particular danger to humans, but there are also species whose bite endangers life.

What types of spiders are the safest

The adjective "non-poisonous" is most often used by the people in relation to spiders with a weak poison. The consequences of a bite from such species are usually almost the same as a mosquito or bee sting. On the territory of Russia, you can find several common and practically safe species of arachnids.

house spider
These are small brown tegenaria spiders. Their body length rarely exceeds 10 mm. Most often they settle in residential buildings and outbuildings, and their diet consists of cockroaches, bedbugs, moths and other small insects. The bite of representatives of this species is practically harmless to humans.
Common cross
This species is a member of the orb-weaving spider family and is best known for its distinctive dorsal pattern. Females are twice as large as males in size and their body length can reach 2-2,5 cm. Crosses are widespread in gardens, outbuildings, on the edges of forests and in hedges. This species feeds on butterflies, wasps, flies, bees and bumblebees. The poison of the common cross does not pose a danger to human health and life.
Spider knitters
These fragile-looking spiders are part of the tetragnathid family. They are light gray or brown in color, have an oblong small body and long thin legs. The body length of knitters can reach 30 mm. The species is very rare in buildings and prefers to settle in gardens, parks and forests. The venom of the knitter spider is absolutely harmless to humans.
haymaker
Representatives of this species are very often found in residential buildings. They spin their webs in corners under ceilings and on window frames. Harvestmen have a small rounded body and long thin legs. The length of the limbs of these spiders can be 20 times longer than the length of the body. The menu of centipede spiders contains flies, mosquitoes, butterflies and other small insects. As for the danger, his fangs are so small that he is simply not able to bite through human skin.
Horses
This is a family of tiny and very cute looking spiders. Most often, horses live in thickets of grass or on the walls of houses. They have a well-developed brain and excellent eyesight, and their body length does not exceed 20 mm. Representatives of the family of horses are unpretentious in the choice of food and eat any insect that they can overcome. These spiders cannot harm a person, since the size of their fangs does not allow them to bite through human skin.
Side walkers
Spiders from this family are also called crab spiders. Their usual habitats are flowers, branches of bushes and the surface of the bark of trees. The body length of side walkers does not exceed 10 mm, and the color can be white, yellow, green and other colors. Their diet includes flies, cicadas, bees and other insects. For humans, crab spiders are completely harmless.

Conclusion

Most arachnid species not aggressive towards a person and attacks only in self-defense, and truly dangerous representatives are rare. Therefore, having found such a neighbor in the garden or near the house, you should not harm him and drive him away. These predatory arthropods are beneficial to humans, because they destroy a huge number of mosquitoes, flies, moths and other annoying insects.

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Comments
  1. Newbie

    I heard that mostly haymakers don't even bite. We used to call them kosenozhki. As far as I remember, when you get close to them, they just run away, leaving behind 1 of their legs, which moves for a while. And so if this is a colony, then they scare away the predator with a bad smell.

    2 years ago

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