Theridiidae is a family of spiders called comb-foot spiders. The reason Theridiidae is called comb-foot spiders is because they have a row of setae on their fourth pair of legs. This helps the spiders to wrap their silk around the prey to capture it. Some of the species in this family have a practice of sexual cannibalism. Sexual cannibalism is when the female spider eats the male after they mate. The Theridiidae is known as the cobweb spiders. The types of the Theridiidae spiders I will be discussing are the widow spiders or know by the genus name Latrodectus. There are a lot of myths that people believe about the widow spiders, which make people afraid of them. I will give a description about them and correct any miss inform idea about them. …show more content…
The widow spiders can be recognized by the hourglass marking on the bottom of the abdomens. Not all widow spiders will have that hourglass mark on them. There are a difference between the female and male of the Latrodectus species. The female widow spider’ abdomen is spherical with long thin legs. The males of the species are a lighter and duller color than the females. The females are darker and have a shiny coloration, because they molt more than the males. They also take a longer time to become mature. The males are smaller than their female counterparts, while the females body being one half inch when measure. Like the other genus in Theridiidae widows spiders are in the cobweb family. They can be found outdoors near rock piles, logs, or barns. The widow spiders use the sticky irregular webs to capture insects. This is done when an insect is caught by the web, there is a vibration throughout it that the spider senses and quickly goes to the insect. Then they use their comb-foot is wrap the prey in the silk and bite it. The bite contains digestive enzymes, which purpose is to liquefy the internal organs. The life cycle of the widow spider is interesting. Their silken egg case containing hundred of eggs, which is hung from the web. The female will watch over the egg sacs protecting it until it hatch. A cool fact is a female window spider can produce upward to 15 egg sac in her life. When the spiderlings hatch they eat each other until about a dozen survive. The spiderlings look nothing like a mature widow spider, it mostly white. There lifespan depend on the gender while female live around nine months the male is a lot shorter. Windows spiders have special adaptation and defenses. The female widow spiders have neurotoxin venom that they inject into their prey. This venom is what the windows spiders are known for. They have bad eyesight which makes it hard to catch prey. This is the reason why they developed able to rely on their sensitivity to vibrations. This ability allows them to detect the presence of prey or threats. When the widow spiders feel threatened, they use their bite defensively when touch. The venom work difference in human in which it causes latrodectism. The symptoms of a widow spider bite are swelling of the lymph nodes, hypertension, sweating, and rigid abdominal muscles. Here some fact about widow spiders that will disprove some of the myths about them.
One of them is that widow spiders are not always blacks. There is a belief that widows have to be black, but there are actually a lot different kinds of widow spiders. Two types of widow spiders are the red widow and brown widow. While some people believe both a male and female black widow can inflict dangerous bites, but most believe only female can thank to its size. While widow spider is known to practice sexual cannibalism, but it's actually a rare in the wild. While most people think black widows are the only one to practice cannibalism, but many insects and spiders do also. One of the most popular myths about the black widows is that their bites are fatal. The truth is while the bites might be painful and medical treatment is needed it rarely lead to death. Most of the black widow bites only cause mild symptoms, while some victims don’t even know they were bitten. From 2000 to 2008 a study found that out 23,000 documented widow bites not one ended in a death. Another reason why the bites result rarely ends in a death is because the volume of the neurotoxins injected is small. While the widow bit venom is 15 times as toxic as prairie rattlesnakes thank to how small the spiders their bite is less dangerous than the snake. Another myth is black widows are known to bite for any reason, but it's actually the opposite. Black widows are not aggressive spiders, and only bites with feeling
threatened. The widow spiders can also be used for the humanity. One way is the black widow dragline silk. The black widow spider dragline silk is a one the most standout among spiders. The silk has far more strength and extensibility than other, which allows it to absorb a lot of energy. They have gained attention from those properties. People have been trying to make synthetically-produced silk that can be used as a lightweight, super strong body armor, athletic attire, and part of medical devices. This would be a breakthrough that could be used to advance the strength of tool and clothes. The lightweight, super strong body armor can be used to make it easier for the wearer move, but also protect them better. There is progress that is happening to make synthetically-produced silk; because two key proteins and the found the genes’ complete DNA sequences. The widow spiders like many other spiders are nature's pests’ control consuming numerous insect pests to keep them in check. The black widow venom is being researched for medical uses. The medicinal uses it that the venom can be used to help heart attack victims by enhancing their blood flow. The ability to enhance the heart attack patient blood flow allows the blood to flow freely and stop the heart attack. The widow spiders are given a bad name, because some myth about the spiders but there some of the less aggressive spider.
Bess beetles range in size all the way from 21 millimeters to 80 millimeters. The beetles are named after the French word baiser, which means “to kiss”, due to the fact that they often make a smooching sound with their legs. They have a small horn that protrudes from their head, and use their antennae to drive them forward when experiencing new smells. Though the beetles may look quite menacing, they are surprisingly docile. They enjoy feasting on rotten wood, moss, and adult beetle fecal matter after it has been partially digested by bacteria. A scientific experiment was conducted to test these beetle’s pulling power in relation to their mass. The hypothesis stated,
Geraldine Brooks the author of People of the Book conveys the story of Sarajevo Haggadah. In the chapter “An Insect’s Wings,” Lola, a young Jewish girl, experiences running away from Nazis and coming back to Sarajevo. In this chapter, it also shares some details of how the famed Sarajevo Haggadah was saved from WWII. This chapter shares the journey of Lola and all the unpleasant events she went through.
ImageText BoxImageOne of the biggest threats to the environment of Ontario is the Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar dispar). The species itself is native to Europe and Asia. How this affects us is by weakening trees across Ontario and North America. The first time the gypsy moth was found in Ontario was 1969. The gypsy moth can be found in southern Canada (Ontario), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and British Columbia. It is known to weaken trees and the caterpillar form live in trees and during most outbreaks its caterpillar feces would fall from the trees to the ground or even on top of humans. The average Gypsy Caterpillar can grow 5-6 centimeters long. With five pairs of blue spots and six pairs of bright red dots on their back. The female moth are white and can fly on the other hand, the male moth are brown and can also fly. The female have a 5cm wing span but male have a 2.5cm wing span. The gypsy moth usually lives in open forests and other forests and take up at least 20% of the space. The Gypsy moth are about 4cm long, tan coloured and can be located on tree trunks, furniture, and buildings. (OFAH Invading Species Awareness Program, 2012)
The short story “The Moths,” written by Helena Maria Viramontes, tells a story between a granddaughter and a grandmother who both share a symbolic connection between each other. The story is in a first person narrative, told by the author, and her experience taking care of her ill grandmother while facing gender and religious oppression in her own home. The author is very distant from her own family mainly because she does not meet the expectations that her parents have embedded for her. There is a motif of rebirth throughout the story told by the author by symbolizing the significance of the gray moths. The vivid imagery of moths in Helena Maria Viramontes’ short story “The Moths” symbolizes the connection between life and death.
She was a frightful tarantula with the head of a sad maiden.” Instead of being treated with respect, this woman is labeled as just one among “so many carnival attractions.” Based on the fact that these creatures that are not fully human they become are neglected. Pelayo and Elisenda built a two-story mansion with balconies and gardens while the angel is left inside the chicken coop and it took a toll on his appearance such as “His ancient eyes became so foggy… remained motionless for several days.” While the couple resides in luxury they refuse to make any sort of change in the angel’s living conditions even though they have the money for an improvement. Creatures, such as the spider and the angel, are often exploited for their physical appearances by the townspeople who do not even stop and think whether or not these things have
Spider monkey’s live in the tropical rain forrest and are best known for their incredible prehensile tails. I think it goes without saying that their tails adapted to have dermal ridges that hold and grab on to much tighter than any other prehensile tail in the animal kingdom because they lack functional thumbs, and the tails act as fingertips in replacement. Generally speaking, they hang out in Central and South America but sometimes show up as far away as Mexico. Their epic prehensile tails, long arms and teeny13.25 pound bodies allow them to feast high up in the trees on fruits, leaves, bird eggs and spiders. Although their interaction with the environment is interesting, so is their relationship with one anot...
With the ever-increasing problem of pest control, it is clear that some form biological must be implemented in order to help farmers. This biological control must be able to effectively control the pest population, this means not killing them but rather never letting the pest populations get too large. Through computer-simulated programs the Spider Division of Frankenstein, Inc. was able to genetically create a spider that genetically perfect for biological control. This paper will discuss the methods that were taken as well as the results of the Spider Divisions experiment.
What can we actively take part in to stop the collapse of bee colonies? Bees are such a vital part of our everyday agriculture production, however, colonies are diminishing before our eyes. Colony Collapse Disorder is a massive decrease of bees in hives and it is greatly affecting our crops because bees are not distributing the necessary amount of pollen to crops in order for them to grow the maximum, most nutritious produce possible. There are many solutions that may help CCD, such as banning neonics, urban beekeeping, and interbreeding honey bees with African killer bees. The most effective way to decrease CCD is by interbreeding honey bees with a stronger specie of bees labeled African killer bees.
... was wreathed in flames” (Tanizaki 103). The fate of the first victim was sealed. He was overwhelmed by her beauty, and thus, became her victim. The black widow will now yearn on consuming other men.
The Triceratops (figure 1) was and herbivore that lived in the late Cretaceous period, which was around 125 million years ago. The Triceratops existed at least 66 million years ago. It was a Rhinoceros-like dinosaur that had a sturdy body structure. It had four legs, three horns, and big eyes. Triceratopses were very complex.
You probably think horseshoe crabs are crustaceans, but you’d be wrong. They actually aren’t crabs at all, and there’s more about the horseshoe crab that you wouldn’t believe. This weird-looking marine animal survived two mass extinctions and lived in the Ordovician Period.
...d by Dawson), regarding the more isolated family, Lychnorhizidae, alternative to the recent taxonomic behavior, which includes three distinct families (Kramp 1961 cited by Dawson).
The Venus Fly Trap, Dionaea muscipula, is a carnivorous plant native to the bogs and swamplands of North and South Carolina. It is an interesting plant and this research paper will be covering the adaptive significance in the insectivtory of the Venus Flytrap and how this evolved into an adaptation for obtaining nutrients in their nutrient poor habitat. How their prey is captured, digestion, lifespan, and vulnerabilities will also be discussed. Including what happens if something other than a bug used for nutrients triggers their traps, and what the actions that take place are when this happens. There is also a reason to believe that this species is at risk for extinction due to fire suppression and poaching.
The tarantella has a very interesting history. Its name derives from a little southern town of Italy called Taranto. It was believed that if a spider called the tarantula bit the townspeople, the only way to survive its bite was to do a dance called the Tarantella. The locals believed this was the only cure. If the people bitten did not dance they would suffer severe pain, muscle spasms, vomiting; most eventually died.
Arachnida is a subphylum of Arthropoda, consisting of over 100 000 species, many of them being parasites which can carry disease. They are found in all environments, and mostly have eight legs, which is a feature, together with the fact that they do not have wings or antennae, often used to distinguish them from the other subphyla, though there are exceptions. They include spiders, scorpions, ticks and mites. Their bodies are divided up into three parts: the cephalothorax, the opisthosoma and the thorax, and use a type of lung for gas exchange. Most Arachnids are carnivorous, and eat pre-digested insects and other small animals. They reproduce using internal reproduction usually lay eggs, except for the scorpion which bears living young. The word ‘Arachnid’ comes from the Greek word ‘Arachne’ meaning ‘spider’.