White spider with red stripes on the sides. The mating rituals of the flower spider Mizumena clubfoot. An excerpt characterizing the Flower Spider

The bulk of the food is flies, which are a breeding ground for many harmful bacteria.

The poison of sidewalk spiders is planned to be used as pesticides in the future.

Pests of agricultural lands become frequent prey of the side-walker spider: meadow moth, two-winged apple suckers, aphids, bugs, weevils.

In medicine, research is being carried out on spider venom to treat arrhythmia, Alzheimer's disease, erectile dysfunction, and stroke.

What to do with a bite

Sidewalk spiders are not dangerous for humans, but their bite is still unpleasant with the following symptoms:

• redness, swelling, itching and burning of the bite site;
• headache;
• dizziness;
• weakness.

When bitten by a sidewalk spider, it is enough to apply ice to the wound and take antihistamines. The bite site can be treated with Star balm or Fenistil-gel.

Often we mistake spiders for ordinary insects, but this is wrong. They have at their disposal poisonous glands containing toxins. All types of sidewalk spiders must be handled with care to avoid the discomfort that these crumbs cause.

Spider (lat. Araneae) belongs to the type of arthropods, class of arachnids, order of spiders. Their first representatives appeared on the planet about 400 million years ago.

Spider - description, characteristics and photos.

The body of arachnids consists of two parts:

• The cephalothorax is covered with a shell of chitin, with four pairs of long jointed legs. In addition to them, there is a pair of leg tentacles (pedipalps) used by sexually mature individuals for mating, and a pair of short limbs with poisonous hooks - chelicerae. They are part oral apparatus. The number of eyes in spiders ranges from 2 to 8.
• Abdomen with respiratory openings and six arachnoid warts for weaving webs.

The size of spiders, depending on the species, ranges from 0.4 mm to 10 cm, and the span of the limbs can exceed 25 cm.

Coloring and drawing on individuals different kind depend on the structural structure of the integument of scales and hairs, as well as the presence and localization of various pigments. Therefore, spiders can have both a dull solid color and bright color various shades.

Types of spiders, names and photos.

More than 42,000 species of spiders have been described by scientists. About 2900 varieties are known on the territory of the CIS countries. Consider several varieties:

blue-green tarantula (lat. Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens)- one of the most spectacular and beautiful in color spiders. The belly of the tarantula is red-orange, the limbs are bright blue, the carapace is green. The dimensions of the tarantula are 6-7 cm, in the span of the legs up to 15 cm. The homeland of the spider is Venezuela, but this spider is found in Asia and African continent. Despite belonging to tarantulas, this type of spider does not bite, but only throws special hairs located on the abdomen, and even then in case of severe danger. For humans, the hairs are not dangerous, but cause small burns on the skin, resembling a nettle burn in effect. Surprisingly, female spiders are long-lived compared to males: the life expectancy of a female spider is 10-12 years, while males live only 2-3 years.

flower spider (lat. Misumena vatia) belongs to the family of sidewalk spiders (Thomisidae). Coloration varies from absolutely white color to bright lemon, pink or greenish. Male spiders are small, 4-5 mm long, females reach sizes of 1-1.2 cm. The type of flower spiders is distributed throughout European territory(excluding Iceland), found in the USA, Japan, Alaska. The spider lives in an open area, with an abundance of flowering forbs, as it feeds on the juices of those caught in its "embraces" and.

Grammostola pulchra (lat. Grammostola Pulchra)- a variety that natural environment lives only in Uruguay and southern regions Brazil. A fairly massive spider, reaching a size of 8-11 cm, with a dark color and a characteristic "metallic" sheen of hairs. In nature, it prefers to live among the roots of plants, but almost never digs its own minks. Pulchra often becomes a pet among connoisseurs of exotic pets.

Argiope Brünnich or wasp spider (lat. Argiope bruennichi) - a spider with an unusual color of the body and limbs - in yellow-black-white stripes, for which it received the name. True, the wasp spider males are not so bright, and they are inferior in size to the females: the “young ladies” reach a size of 2.5 cm, and together with the paws - 4 cm, but the male rarely grows more than 7 mm in length. The species is widely distributed in Europe, Asia and southern Russia, in the Volga region and in North Africa. The argiope spider lives in meadows with an abundance of grass, on the edges of the forest. The web of the argiope is very strong, so it is difficult to break it, it will only stretch under pressure.

hunter (lat. Dolomedes fimbriatus) widely distributed on the Eurasian continent and found along the banks of reservoirs with stagnant or very slowly flowing water. Often settles in swampy meadows, in shady forests or gardens with high humidity. The body length of the female limb hunter varies from 14 to 22 mm, the male is smaller and rarely larger than 13 mm. The color of spiders of this species is usually yellowish-brown or almost black, with light yellow or white stripes running along the sides of the abdomen.

(lat. Lycosa tarantula)- a species of spiders belonging to the family of wolf spiders (lat. Lycosidae). Lives in the open spaces Southern Europe: often found in Italy and Spain, burrows half a meter deep in Portugal. The dimensions of the tarantula are impressive - up to 7 cm in length, individuals are usually painted in red, less often in brown tones, on the body there are several transverse stripes of a light color and one longitudinal.

Spiked orb-web spider or " horned spider» (lat. Gasteracantha cancriformis) distributed in the tropics and subtropics, in the southern part of the United States, in Central America, Philippines, Australia. The size of the female is 5-9 mm, the width reaches 10-13 mm. Males are 2-3 mm long. The paws of the spiked spider are short, and there are 6 spikes along the edges of the abdomen. The color of the spider is very bright: white, yellow, red, black. On the abdomen is a pattern of black dots.

Peacock spider(lat. Maratus volans). All kinds of colors are found in the color of this spider: red, blue, blue, green, yellow. The color of females is paler. An adult individual reaches a size of 4-5 mm. With their beautiful outfit, males attract females. The peacock spider lives in Australia - in Queensland and New South Wales.

Smiling spider (lat. Theridion grallator) or a spider with a happy face is completely harmless to humans. This unusual spider lives in the Hawaiian Islands. Its body length is 5 mm. The color of the spider can be varied - pale, yellow, orange, blue. This species feeds on small bright coloring individuals helps to confuse enemies, especially birds.

Black Widow (lat. Latrodectus mactans)- This is a very dangerous and poisonous species of spiders. Lives in Australia North America and is also found in Russia. The size of females reaches 1 cm, males are much smaller. The body of the black widow has a black color, and on the abdomen there is a characteristic red spot in the form hourglass. Males are brown with white stripes. The bite is deadly.

Karakurt (lat. Latrodectus tredecimguttatus)- This is a species of deadly poisonous spiders from the genus black widows. The female karakurt has a size of 10-20 mm, the male is much smaller and has a size of 4-7 mm. There are 13 red spots on the abdomen of this terrible spider. In some varieties, the spots have borders. Some mature individuals are devoid of spots and have a completely black shiny body. Lives in Kyrgyzstan Astrakhan region, in countries Central Asia, in the south of Russia, Ukraine, in the Black Sea and Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, in southern Europe, in North Africa. Also karakurt was seen in the Saratov region, Volgograd region, Orenburg region, Kurgan region, in the south of the Urals.

Spiders live everywhere and are common in all corners the globe. They do not live only in areas where the surface of the earth all year round hidden under the ice sheet. The number of species in countries with a humid and hot climate is greater than in temperate or cold. With the exception of a few species, spiders are terrestrial and live in built nests or burrows, being active at night.

Tarantulas and other species of mygalomorph spiders live in the crowns of equatorial trees and shrubs. The "drought tolerant" species of spiders prefer burrows, crevices in the ground, and any cover at ground level. For example, digging spiders (atypical tarantulas) live in colonies settled in individual burrows located at a depth of up to 50 cm. Some species of mygalomorph spiders close their burrows with special dampers made of soil, vegetation and silk.

Side walker spiders (crab spiders) most they spend their lives sitting on flowers waiting for prey, although some members of the family can be found on tree bark or forest floor.

Representatives of the funnel spider family place their web on tall grass and shrub branches.

Wolf spiders prefer damp, grassy meadows and wetlands. wooded area, where they are found in abundance among the fallen leaves.

The water (silver) spider builds a nest under water, attaching it with the help of cobwebs to various bottom objects. He fills his nest with oxygen and uses it as a diving bell.

What do spiders eat?

Spiders are rather original creatures that feed very interestingly. Some types of spiders may not eat long time- from a week to a month and even a year, but if they start, then there will be little left. Interestingly, the weight of food that all spiders can eat during the year is several times more than the mass of the entire population living on the planet today.
How and what do spiders eat? Depending on the type and size, spiders get food and eat differently. Some spiders weave a web, thereby organizing ingenious traps that are very difficult for insects to notice. Digestive juice is injected into the caught prey, corroding it from the inside. After a while, the “hunter” draws the resulting “cocktail” into the stomach. Other spiders during the hunt “spit” with sticky saliva, thereby attracting prey to themselves. beetles and orthopterans, and some species are able to drag them into their homes or earthworm and eat them in peace.
The queen spider hunts only at night, creating a sticky web bait for careless moths. Noticing an insect near the bait, the spinning queen quickly swings the thread with her paws, thereby attracting the attention of the victim. The moth happily curls around such a bait, and touching it, immediately remains hanging on it. As a result, the spider can easily pull it towards itself and enjoy the prey.

Large tropical tarantulas are happy to hunt small frogs

Aquatic species of spiders get their food from the water, catching tadpoles, small fish or midges floating on the surface of the water with the help of a web. Some spiders, which are predators, due to the lack of prey, can also get enough of plant food, which includes pollen or plant leaves. Harvest spiders prefer grains of cereals.

Judging by the numerous notes of scientists, a huge number of spiders destroy small rodents and insects several times more than animals living on the planet.

Like everything unusual, a white spider can really scare even an adult sane person. In some cases, this fear is unfounded, because there are spiders that are completely safe for humans. Of course, you should not pick them up and play with them, because the bites of many of them, although not harmful to health, can be painful. However, in some cases, meeting unusual creature can have fatal consequences. Let us consider in more detail the most common types of arachnids that have a white color.

Karakurt

Knowledgeable people say that this white spider is dangerous to humans. Its venom is not as strong as that of the black brother, but for a child, an old man or a weakened patient, the bite can be fatal.

Look carefully at the photo of karakurt and try to remember it. This spider does not have an “hourglass” on the back, like its relative, but you can recognize it by the presence of four recessed points on the back. The head and abdomen of this species are usually yellowish.

You can meet this spider in some regions of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, in the south of Russia, in some countries of Africa and the Middle East. If you see this creature, try not to disturb its peace and remember: spiders are not interested in people, they are afraid of them and will never attack first. But if, by negligence, you touched a spider and he responded aggressively, the victim should immediately consult a doctor.

white lady

Of all the white spiders, the lady is the largest - the span of the legs sometimes reaches 10 cm. This species lives in hot African desert Namib. The peculiar climate dictates its own conditions, there are relatively few people in those parts. There are practically no cases of this spider attacking a person, so the species is not considered dangerous.

Often this creature is called the "dancing spider", due to its peculiar manner of movement and characteristic tapping. It has been established that with the help of frequent "stomping" spiders communicate with each other: they transmit danger signals and even offers to start a family.

This white spider, like many relatives, is a predator and feeds on insects. If fate takes you in and you are lucky enough to meet a white lady, try not to scare her. They have excellent hearing, but poor eyesight. Watch this beauty, trying not to make noise, because it is not often possible to see such an unusual creature.

flower spider

This creature is a type of sidewalk spider. White color is its main distinguishing feature. It would be more accurate to say that this is a spider with a white back and a white abdomen, and its legs and head are more saturated in color. These small creatures are distributed almost throughout Europe (except for the coldest northern regions), in North America, Russia, and Japan. Males reach an average of 4 mm in length, and females are twice their size. To know flower sidewalk easily. There are red stripes on the lateral surfaces of its snow-white abdomen.

This creature does not pose a danger to humans. If you see it in your garden, do not drive it away or destroy it: the small spider is a voracious predator, the menu of which often includes garden pests.

White Demon

But with the next creature jokes are bad. The chances of meeting him are those who travel around Africa and South America. This big black and white spider is different aggressive behavior and its venom is toxic to humans. It does not belong to the species Heteroscodra maculata, but its bites are painful, require medical care. Spider venom quickly spreads through the body and can cause a lot of trouble.

The leg span of this creature reaches 15 cm. Its body is covered with hairs that make it look like a fur toy. But this impression is deceptive - you have a formidable opponent in front of you. Contact with him should be avoided.

Folk omens

Since ancient times, spiders have caused many controversial associations. According to some sources, they were considered the guardians of the house, and according to others, they foreshadowed unexpected guests and even invasions of enemies. But a white spider has always been considered a harbinger of blessings. This applies even to dreams.

Large white spiders seen in a dream are considered harbingers of marriages, achievements, promotions and profits.

Summing up, we can say that even the most dangerous and poisonous species spiders are dangerous only to those who want to grab them in their hands and in every possible way interfere with the quiet spider life. But a white creature can only be on the snow - but they do not run in the snow.

Careful attitude to all living things helps to avoid many unsafe situations.

I identified this pretty arachnid as floral about a spider species Misumena vatia from the family sidewalk spiders (crab spiders). Somewhat embarrassing is the fact that in my presence the spider moved exclusively rectilinearly and did not show any crab-like habits, but the bright color and shape of the body, nevertheless, speak for the fact that this is a side-walker spider. showed up yellow spider by no means on a flower, even though it has a flower name, but on a mushroom. The yellow spider turned out to be nimble, and, having been released from the jar, it started racing across the expanses of the table, and therefore it was quite difficult to photograph it.

In standby-defense mode, the spider took this position, standing on 4 back short legs and threateningly spreading 4 front long ones.

Scary! For nothing, that growth in it, if without paws, from the strength of 8 millimeters.

The spider did not sit still, studied the area, looked out for something:

When the camera approached, he got nervous and started running:

Then it turned out interesting way"occupy" the guest in order to have time to bring the lens to him. My hairy hand became a help in this matter: the yellow spider got tangled in my hair, thought for a long time where to throw my long legs, so that his photogenicity increased markedly.

The spider itself is translucent and glows in sunshine, only on the head there is a special opaque "visual patch" with eight eyes.

During the photo session, the spider was planted on a flower, from which it safely disappeared, well, but I didn’t look - where can my inattention compete with spider mimicry?

What do sources say about these spiders?

Floral spider Misumena vatia belongs to the family sidewalk spiders or crab spiders (Thomisidae). This name was given to the representatives of the family for the ability to move sideways (which, however, my particular specimen did not demonstrate to me).

Sidewalker spiders do not spin webs: their main weapons are mimicry and long front legs.

Many sidewalk spiders (for example, our hero — flower spider Misumena) spend most of their time on flowers, waiting for prey, which, as a rule, are various nectar lovers - bees, butterflies, etc. The spider waits for the moment when the victim plunges his head into the weave of stamens, and attacks, grabbing it with trapping legs and inflicting venomous bite in the neck area, instantly immobilizing the insect.

Thanks to patronizing coloration the spider can go unnoticed when in close proximity to the victim. However, yellow- this is just a special case of the color of the flower spider. Depending on the preferred plants, it can vary greatly.

The flower spider also has a huge number of relatives that live in trees or in the forest floor and have patronizing coloration suitable for their habitat and allowing them to fully merge with the substrate.

There are 170 genera and more than 2000 species of sidewalk spiders in the world fauna.

For a person they not dangerous.

Tarantulas belong to the genus of higher spiders of the wolf spider family. This type differs in large body sizes (tarantulas can reach 3.5 - 7 cm in length), as well as the presence of poisonous glands. Most often, all large spiders are called tarantulas. This is a very common misconception. For example, the same tarantula, despite its large sizes, has nothing to do with tarantulas. The habitat of tarantulas is a territory devoid of moisture. Most often, representatives of this species can be found in the desert sands and steppes. Feeding tarantulas small insects and animals, attacking them and killing them with poison. Another very common misconception is that a tarantula can pose a threat to humans. Yes, the threat can come, but only for those who are terribly afraid of spiders. The poison of a tarantula cannot kill a person. The bite of this spider can be compared to the bite of a wasp or hornet, it can cause swelling or severe pain shock, but not poison a person.

There are several types of spiders in the world that a person should be wary of. Only two such individuals live in the USA. This is a "brown hermit" ( Loxosceles reclusa) and the black widow (Latrodectus mactans). The bites of these spiders are deadly because of the venom.
« brown hermit» can be found in homes in the American West, they hide in the crevices of the floors. The bites of these spiders never heal. Who wants to look at these terrible wounds - welcome here. So to know. But I warned you!

"Black Widow" black color with scarlet spots. This type of spider never attacks a person on its own, only if people try to touch it. Distinctive feature of these spiders - an unusually clear pattern on the body in the form of an hourglass:

Photo from here

The female is very poisonous spider. Males are less common and are harmless. Males have four pairs of red dots along the sides of the abdomen. After mating, the female devours the male, hence the name "black widow". But even among black widows, cannibalism occurs far from 100% of cases - it is rather a deviation from the norm. The bite of the female is venomous to humans and is accompanied by local pain, swelling, nausea, difficulty in breathing and is sometimes fatal.

Another dangerous spider- Karakurt (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus). Quite common in steppe zone Central Asia, as well as in the Caucasus and Crimea. Karakurt is a small spider, its length usually does not exceed twenty millimeters. The habitat for karakurts is virgin lands, wastelands, banks of irrigation canals, and so on. People are prone to bites of karakurt during the migration of females (this is approximately June-July). The most poisonous are sexually mature females, poison karakurt fifteen times stronger than poison rattlesnake. After a bite, a small speck remains on the body, which quickly disappears. After fifteen minutes, sharp pains begin in the abdomen, lower back and chest, then the legs go numb. The patient becomes lethargic severe pain not sleeping. Recovery occurs in about three weeks, or even more. In severe cases and in the absence of medical care, death occurs already on the second day.

For all of us, the words “spider” and “web” are quite familiar. We know well that the spider uses its web to hunt. But it is not always the case. Some spiders do not use webs at all. bright representative a spider that does not use a web is a side walker. The spider simply disguises itself in a flower and waits for prey. By virtue of its abilities, the spider can move not only forward and backward, but sideways, so it does not waste time turning around. And it is precisely these fractions of a second that the victim lacks to slip away.

Synema globosum:

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Jumping spiders have eight eyes, two of which are in the back. The spider got its name for the ability to jump a distance several times greater than the length of the body. And the point here is not in the legs, but in circulatory system. Before the jump, the pressure of the spider increases several times, due to which the hind legs straighten sharply and the spider flies towards the victim, not forgetting to insure itself with a cobweb.

Photo from here

The wolf spider uses the web like a rope to tie and hang its prey. Feeding his feet. The wolf spider can walk on water and even dive for small tadpoles or fry.

The pirate spider uses the web as a signal. He stretches it in front of the mink, and ties the ends to his legs.

Some of the flower spiders are able to change their color for more than a few days, usually between white and yellow, depending on the color of the flower they are resting on.

Another interesting spider- Argyroneta aquatica. This is a water spider. If you translate the name literally, then you get "the one who has a silver thread." A spider, or rather a spider, is very small in size, only up to one and a half centimeters in length. However, the bite of this insect is very painful. Spiders live in water, or rather, under water. Habitat - Central and Northern Europe. Under water, each spider has a bag woven from the web. It used to be that this bag was used to store food and to hide in a moment of danger. And only recently, scientists have found that the primary task of underwater bags is to store air. Spiders catch air bubbles under water and gently carry them into their bag on their paws, and the spiders react very strongly to the composition of the air inside the bag.
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The male peacock spider Maratus volans uses dancing and a flamboyant "dress" to attract females:

Photo from here

The pattern on the abdomen of the spider Cyclocosmia truncata resembles an ancient seal. The spider uses its disk as one of the means of protection in cases of danger. They lead a sedentary lifestyle, so they do not move far from their minks. When threatened, he crawls into his burrow head first and closes the entrance to the shelter with his hard disk.
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Look unusual spiked spiders. These spiders are distributed in tropical and subtropical zones. There are six spines along the edge of their abdomen. They give the spider a more intimidating look, which allows you to scare off potential enemies:

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They feed on small insects that come across to them in the network. The spider trap is a fairly strong network canvas, reaching a diameter of 30 centimeters. It has practically perfect shape circle, in the middle of which is a thin network. It serves as the basis for the spider.
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The web resembles computer disks:

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And now just a selection of interesting and bright spiders by color.

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Red with yellow:

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Red with black:

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Red with white:

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Orange:

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(Araneus marmoreus - Marble cross):


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(Brachypelma boehmei):


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Yellow:

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(Gasteracantha arcuata):


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Green, from emerald to lemon:

(Araneus cingulatus and Mopsus mormon):


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(Grammostola pulchra):


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(Poecilotheria ornata):


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(Nigma walckenaeri):


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(Colaranea viriditas):

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(Peucetia viridans):


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(Avicularia purpurea):


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