The private life of redback spiders.
Here in Australia we have a large amount of venomous and poisonous spiders.
One of the most recognizable being the Redback Spider with it's dark black to brown glossy body, and distinctive red stripe or blaze along its back.
Mostly nocturnal hunters, the Redback spider has a tendency to live near or within homes.
Preying on small insects and animals that wander into its somewhat haphazard web.
Interestingly enough the Redback is one of the few species of spider to display sexual cannibalism and will happily consume their mate after breeding. I imagine being able to store the sperm for up to two years means not so much of an issue with finding another male for a time.
If you have been bitten by this particular spider you may have such symptoms as,
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Headaches and agitation in severe cases.
One story I was told regarding a nest of these spiders was an individual with dreadlocks who had a tendency to avoid washing his hair, as this was giving him headaches. And ultimately anytime they adjusted their hair, or moved about.
Turns out they had a nest of thousands of baby Redback spiders in there, and every time they disturbed the nest. They were biting and envenoming him repeatedly, causing the above issues.
Now I'm not sure if this is an urban legend, or a myth, as I did not know them personally. But it doesn't seem an impossibility as this breed of spider does like to lay it's eggs in a warm moist environment.
Thanks for tuning in.
Remember to check under the toilet seat.
Doctor out.
i hope your wishes and dreams come true and you get what you want
Beautiful but dangerous. Thanks for this important information. I'm upvoting you, hope you do the same for me.
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STOPTo support your work, I also upvoted your post!
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STOPHere in the USA we have a spider called a Black Widow, that also eats the male. They look very similar.
Image from Pixabay:
I used to hunt these spiders for entomologists to milk for anti-venom. Here their bite can kill. Interestingly, their web is unreasonably strong, and that helped my locate them. You can feel the single strands of silk snap in this web, and you know you have a Black Widow.
Be Blessed!