spider venom
Spider venoms are an incredibly rich source of disulfide-rich insecticidal peptides that have been tuned over millions of years to target a wide range of receptors and ion channels in the insect nervous system. These peptides can act individually, or as part of larger toxin cabals, to rapidly immobilize envenomated prey owing to their debilitating effects on nervous system function. Most of these peptides contain a unique arrangement of disulfide bonds that provides them with extreme resistance to proteases. As a result, these peptides are highly stable in the insect gut and hemolymph and many of them are orally active. Thus, spider-venom peptides can be used as stand-alone bioinsecticides, or transgenes encoding these peptides can be used to engineer insect-resistant crops or enhanced entomopathogens. We critically review the potential of spider-venom peptides to control insect pests and highlight their advantages and disadvantages compared with conventional chemical insecticides
spider venom
When Poisonous Spiders Bite
are arachnids. This is the same group of animals that includes ticks, mites, and scorpions. All arachnids have 8 legs. Insects have only 6 legs.
No matter where you live, you’ll find spiders in and around your home. Although all spiders have mouth parts that can bite, most spiders aren’t dangerous to people. Depending on the type of spider, it’s either because its venom isn’t toxic to people, or its mouth parts aren’t strong enough to bite through human skin.
There are 2 types of spiders found in the United States that can cause illness in people. One type is the widow spider. The black widow is the best known. The other type is the recluse spider. The brown recluse is the best known. A bite by either type usually is not deadly, but it may make a person very sick. It’s important to get quick medical help if you think you’ve been bitten by either type of spider.
Preventing bites
Both the black widow and brown recluse spiders are shy and avoid areas of a home with lots of activity or open spaces. They prefer quiet corners of a home, dark areas under seldom-moved furniture, garages, sheds, and wood piles. Neither spider is overly aggressive. They usually bite only when provoked or trapped against the skin.
Teach your children to not reach into areas where spiders may live without first checking to make sure no spiders are there. Webs and dead insects in an area usually show that spiders are active there. Children also should not play around rock piles and woodpiles.
spider venom
Recluse spiders. There are 12 species of recluse spiders, including the brown recluse, in the United States. Only half of these are responsible for bites that have a major reaction in people. Most of the spiders in this group have a violin/fiddle-shaped markings on the upper part of their body with the base at the front of the head and the neck of the violin pointing towards the rear of the spider. Besides the brown recluse, the other poisonous spiders in this group can be gray, orange, reddish-brown or pale brown. Like the black widow, the recluse spiders like quiet, dark, undisturbed areas in and around the home. They are nighttime spiders, so they come out mostly at night or when the light is dim.
spider venom
