Migrations of sexually mature karakurts are long, and it is they that lead to sudden contacts between a spider and a person, which can often result in an unfortunate bite. During migration, a spider can get into a person’s clothing or home. The bite of the male is considered harmless - his jaws (chelicerae) are too weak and he is not able to bite through human skin. But, as I already mentioned, even a young spider was able to bite me. But a bite from an adult female can lead to serious consequences, but usually does not pose a mortal danger: the dose is too small. A human being bitten by a karakurt often occurs in nature during the spider’s migration, but a South American “black widow,” like a katipo spider, happens more often in a home that they like to share with people, and regardless of the season (this spider does not migrate).
Karakurt poison is represented by protein, and different parts of the poisonous secretion act on invertebrates and vertebrates. But the general neurotropic direction of action of karakurt poison can be traced. The bottom line is that the neuromuscular synapse is affected, which disrupts the transmission of nerve impulses to the muscle fiber, paralyzing the work of the latter. When the respiratory muscles are affected, death occurs from respiratory arrest.
The literature describes cases of karakurt biting a person. If a person is bitten by an adult female karakurt, the victim will initially feel a slight pain at the site of the bite, which will intensify only after a certain time, usually after about 15-20 minutes, so the fact of the bite itself may not be recognized. This is true: I could not find the wounds from the bite itself, noting only the result that appeared, but I felt the pain from the karakurt bite instantly. This may be due to good blood supply to the hand and, accordingly, the rapid spread of poison. A little later, after about two hours, cramping pain in the abdomen will appear, reminiscent of the clinical picture, in medical terms, of an “acute abdomen,” an increase in body temperature to subfebrile, joint pain, convulsions, and cardiac arrhythmia. The area bitten by the spider swells and the pain increases sharply. After a week or two, the symptoms of the bite gradually subside, but periodic deterioration of the victim’s condition can be observed for six months, and it manifests itself as sudden fainting, attacks of dizziness, and shortness of breath.
As I have already described, I survived the bite of the karakurt quite easily, which, apparently, is associated with a small dose of poison that I received from a very young karakurt.
The bite of a “black widow” has a similar effect, only the venom of this spider is less toxic than the venom of our compatriot. Since the poison has a protein structure, it can act not only due to its toxicity, but also cause allergic reactions, up to anaphylactic shock, which, without proper treatment in a hospital, can result in death (but in this regard, bee or bee venom is no less dangerous wasps). To avoid a karakurt bite, it is enough to check and shake out clothes, and also avoid spending the night in the open air in endemic areas. If a halt in nature is unavoidable, then it is necessary to build a protective fabric canopy around the tent, which will prevent migrating spiders from seeking refuge in the tent.
In the case of the South American relative of the karakurt, bites are most common in bathrooms and toilets. This implies the principle of bite prevention - constant measures for room hygiene, mandatory removal of cobwebs.
First aid for a bite, if it is recognized, is a simple cauterization with a match. The method is painful, but effective: the wound from a spider bite is so small that it affects only the upper layers of the skin, and the fire from a match is enough to cause denaturation, that is, destruction, of the venom proteins. The most effective remedy for a karakurt bite is anti-karakurt serum. It is prepared in laboratories by injecting small doses of poison into animals, most often horses, and their bodies produce antibodies to the injected poison. Serum with such antibodies is the most effective cure for a karakurt bite. However, the serum contains a lot of foreign protein, and therefore allergic complications, including anaphylactic shock, are possible. Therefore, it is best to administer anti-karakurt serum to the victim under the cover of therapeutic doses of prednisolone or another hormonal drug that can suppress a possible allergic reaction.
As for self-medication, which people often subject themselves to, it, as a rule, includes drinking alcoholic beverages, and they absolutely cannot be taken in this situation. Alcohol increases the speed of blood circulation, increasing and accelerating the rate of release of poison into the general circulation of the blood from soft tissues. The second common misconception is the application of a tourniquet. The poison still remains in the wound, and after removing the tourniquet, the poison also quickly enters the bloodstream, but together with inflammatory mediators, arachidonic acid derivatives - prostaglandins, etc., which are secreted by the cells of the vascular walls in response to mechanical damage to the vessels by the tourniquet. These inflammatory mediators not only have a toxic effect on the body, but also excite and enhance the effect of the poison itself. This leads to the only comprehensive way to slow down the entry of poison into the body: less physical effort, avoid direct sun, since in the heat blood circulation increases to increase heat transfer, which accelerates the absorption of poison, and a cold compress on the bitten area, since cold causes vasospasm, which slows down the absorption of poison from the wound, and part of the poison has time to be inactivated by the human immune system.
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Living in the lands of the former Soviet Union, the karakurt (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus) and the tropical black widow (Latrodectus mactans) belong to different species of the same spider genus - the Black Widow. Perhaps that is why the generic name stuck firmly to much less ferocious domestic individuals.
Geography of Black Widows
Representatives of the genus have gained a bad reputation as the most poisonous arachnids. The statement is true for arthropods inhabiting the islands of Oceania, Australia and North America. The natives would rather step on a rattlesnake than a black widow with its powerful poison(15 times superior to the snake).
Karakurts live in the steppes and deserts of Afghanistan, North Africa, Iran and southern Europe, including certain regions of the Mediterranean.
Local black widows are well known to residents of neighboring countries:
- Central Asia.
- Kazakhstan.
- Southern regions of Ukraine.
- Caucasus.
Karakurts reached the south of the Urals, biting people in areas bordering Kazakhstan: in Orsk (Orenburg region), Kurtamysh (Kurgan region).
These spiders are dispersed throughout the Southern Federal District, including Crimea, Astrakhan, Volgograd and Rostov regions, and Krasnodar Territory.
Arthropods were seen in the Moscow region, Saratov and Novosibirsk regions, as well as in the Altai Territory.
Appearance and reproduction
The male is two or even three times smaller than his female. Some females grow up to 20 mm, while male specimens barely reach 7 mm. It is not surprising that after a successful sexual intercourse, the female without regrets devours the male, like waste material.
The general color of the rounded body (including 4 pairs of tentacles) is black, with a characteristic tint. Red spots of various configurations, bordered by narrow white stripes, are often observed on a black background.
A person with poor eyesight can easily confuse a spider with its legs tucked in for a black currant.
Karakurts reach sexual maturity in June, starting to look for secluded places to weave temporary nets intended for mating.
After copulation, the females again go in search, but now for a protected shelter for their offspring. Spider eggs have to survive the winter in cocoons hung (2-4 pieces each) in the nest. Young spiders will emerge in April to fly off into adulthood on their webs.
Karakurt habitats
The spider makes its home among stones, dry branches, in the top layer of soil, often in other people's burrows, closing the entrance with trapping nets of randomly intertwined threads.
He likes to settle on untouched lands, including virgin lands, slopes of ravines, wastelands, and banks of irrigation ditches. Haymaking, plowing of steppes and cattle grazing sharply reduce the number of karakurt.
Adult spiders also die from insecticides used to pollinate farmland. True, chemical reagents do not affect cocoons: they can only be burned with fire.
With the onset of autumn, black widows, who prefer a nocturnal lifestyle, move closer to warmth - to basements, sheds, cellars, outdoor toilets, houses and apartments.
In its quest for comfort, the spider climbs into shoes, linen, bed, and kitchen utensils. And this is a direct threat to human life.
Spider activity
Its peak is recorded from July to September. During the migration of females (June/July), the number of people and animals affected by their “kisses” increases sharply.
Outbreaks of mass reproduction of karakurt are recorded once every 25 or once every 10 years, with adult females posing the main danger.
Our karakurt, of course, cannot be compared with a real black widow in terms of the strength of its poison, but its bites are sometimes fatal.
So, in October 1997, karakurts bit 87 residents of the Kherson region: all of them were treated in a hospital, but one could not be saved.
Then zoologists suggested that the massive attack was provoked by rainfall, which drove the spiders out of their shelters.
Along the way, it turned out that in the post-war years the karakurt felt like the master of the Don steppes and disappeared for a long time due to their active development.
The revival of the black widow population began with the collapse of the USSR: they are actively breeding in abandoned fields and farms.
Second favorable factor- global climate change, in which the arid zone is moving north. This plays into the hands of spiders, who avoid heavy rainfall, which is disastrous for their burrows.
Extraction of karakurt
They become both insects and small rodents, whose living space the killer occupies without remorse.
The spider paralyzes the victim, allowing the poison, which acts as a digestive secretion, to spread throughout its tissues. Once the insect is soft enough, the black widow will stick its proboscis into it and begin sucking out the contents.
During a meal, the spider can be distracted by other activities, move away from the “table” and return again, turn the victim over, sucking it from different sides.
A hole covered in cobwebs signals danger. The spider will not attack without a reason, which could be any careless intrusion into its private space.
Effect of poison
A barely noticeable red dot from a bite will trigger a chain reaction throughout the body: after a quarter of an hour, a burning pain will engulf the entire body (especially in the chest, abdomen and lower back).
Characteristic symptoms will appear:
- tachycardia and shortness of breath;
- redness or paleness of the face;
- dizziness and tremors;
- headache, vomiting and sweating;
- heaviness in the chest or epigastric region;
- bronchospasm and priapism;
- inhibition of defecation and urination.
Later, intoxication turns into a depressed state, clouding of consciousness and delirium.
Antidote
The most effective drug was considered to be antikarakurt serum produced by the Tashkent Bacteriological Institute.
Good results were obtained with the administration (intravenous) of calcium chloride, novocaine and magnesium hydrogen sulfate.
If the person bitten is away from the medical center, it is recommended to cauterize the affected area with a lit match head within the first two minutes. It is believed that the poison, which does not have time to penetrate deeply, is destroyed by exposure to high temperature.
Karakurt spider especially dangerous for small children. If help is late, the child cannot be saved.
Animals die from close “contacts” with the black widow, among which camels and horses are considered the most vulnerable.
Breeding karakurt
Only very self-confident and fearless people can keep these arthropods at home. If you are able to distinguish a male from a female, create a spider union to observe the breeding.
Yes, and do not forget to protect the male: the spider will regularly encroach on his life.
For an artificial lair you will need:
- terrarium or aquarium;
- sand mixed with gravel;
- moss, twigs and dry leaves.
You will have to catch flies and cockroaches in order to throw them immobilized into the web for your pets. In winter, there is no need to feed spiders - they sleep, but they need to be slightly warmed (with an electric lamp or warm air).
The terrarium will require cleaning in the spring. Send the karakurts to the jar and get rid of the debris in their nest.
Black widow spider as a business
On the Internet rumors are circulating about a low-cost and fabulously profitable business - breeding karakurts to obtain poison.
Those interested are explained in their fingertips what milking poisonous arthropods looks like, assuring them that this is a simple and safe process that can be mastered on their own.
In fact, the extraction of poison is carried out by specially trained people, in industrial conditions and using expensive equipment.
To do this, they purchase a special gas (for euthanizing karakurts) and an “operating table” installation with electrodes necessary to deliver a discharge to the chelicerae so that the poison is removed.
The most expensive part of the scheme(several tens of thousands of dollars) - a unit for drying poison, which should turn into crystals.
500 karakurts from one milking yield 1 g of dry toxin, which costs up to 1,200 euros on the black market.
Undoubtedly, a profitable business, but it is not for self-taught people, loners and amateurs.
Karakurt - compound name: "kara" - black, "kurt" - worm (from Turkic), scientific name - Latrodectus tredecimguttatus. The spider received another name “black widow” for its dark body color and instant eating of its partner after mating.
A special feature of this spider is the red-orange markings on the abdomen, sometimes bordered by a white outline.
Quite aesthetic in the photo, without fluff, which is typical for spider varieties, it does not necessarily cause a feeling of disgust or is capable of reminding of danger. As the animal ages, the spots may disappear, as for Eurasian females, unlike Australian and American ones, which are always spotted, so black spiders should be avoided in their regions.
A more detailed description of the spider: spherical abdomen, cephalothorax, four pairs of legs, two pairs of jaws. The upper jaws of the female end with hooks, on the other side of which there are poisonous glands. Sometimes a mature female has yellow stripes instead of red-orange dots. Body length is 1−2 cm, legs up to 3 cm.
One of the differences of the species is sexual dimorphism: the length of the female is related to the length of the male as 20:7 mm. It is not red hemoglobin (iron) that is responsible for hematopoiesis, but blue hemocyanin (copper), which is why black spiders have blue blood.
There is another type of karakurt - white. With the same physique as the black one, it does not have colorful colors, as you can see in the photo, but its bite is not so poisonous and is more often dangerous for children and the elderly.
Habitats
The spider prefers warm steppe, semi-steppe, forest-steppe zones of Southern Europe, Central Asia (Iran, Afghanistan), North Africa, southern Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and is found in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. Common habitat areas in Russia are Crimea, Altai, Krasnodar territories, Novosibirsk, Astrakhan, Rostov regions.
In hot years, karakurts were spotted at the latitude of the Moscow region in the process of migration. But usually the Black Widow cannot survive harsh climatic conditions, and such cases are rare. For habitat, the karakurt spider chooses the steppe, arable land, areas near ravines, wastelands, and salt marshes.
He avoids open areas, thick grass, wet ravines, and hot deserts. Uneven rocky surfaces, similar to the habitat of ferrets and lemmings, are acceptable for it. Sometimes karakurt is found on abandoned construction sites, but a modern courtyard is no exception. Karakurt spiders die with the onset of frost in the fall.
Nutrition
This spider feeds on insects caught in its webs. The victims are arthropods that live close to the black widow: grasshoppers, beetles, flies, horseflies, locusts, cicadas and other invertebrates.
These insects are often caught in horizontal nets. The weaving of a web does not look like a round pattern of trapezoids, but more looks like a random chaotic pattern. The spider paralyzes the victim with poison, after which it extracts liquid components from it.
Reproduction
In July–August, spiders mate. The male attracts the female with fragrant pheromones. Immediately after mating games, the spider eats her spouse and goes to lay eggs in cozy corners, which include mouse holes, cracks in the earth's crust, walls of adobe houses, and ventilation drainage systems. There the female places her cocoons. Usually the number of eggs reaches 130 pieces. With the arrival of autumn, the female dies.
Eggs hidden in a cocoon reliably stored all winter, and in April they are released with the help of the wind, spreading across flat terrain, expanding the habitat horizons of the species.
The cubs appear quickly, after ten days, but do not leave the shelter until they eat the supplies left by the mother. They then proceed to eat each other. Only strong surviving individuals remain, which emerge from the cocoon the following spring and become sexually mature in June–July.
Periodically, strong outbreaks of reproduction of the karakurt spider occur at intervals of 10−25 years.
Enemies of the Karakurts
Herds of grazing sheep and pigs are an unfavorable phenomenon for spiders: feeding on grass, they trample large areas while simultaneously destroying karakurts.
Sphex wasps eat spiders in a similar way to themselves: by injecting poison and sucking them out.
The ichneumon beetles lay eggs in the cocoons of the karakurt, and then their larvae destroy the spider offspring.
Karakurt bites do not harm hedgehogs, and hedgehogs do not refuse to feast on them.
Bites
Karakurt bites are fatal, and 15 times more poisonous than a rattlesnake bite, the poison of which is enough to kill 75 people out of 100 bitten. But the spiders themselves do not attack. It is advisable to see the spider in the photo to remember what it looks like.
In the first minutes, the bite is not felt and the affected area looks like a small abrasion. Over time, this symptom begins to disappear. Pain appears after 2-3 hours, A sometimes 30 minutes are enough for a person to feel aches, heaviness, and malaise.
Bite symptoms:
- body aches, mostly in the muscles of the chest, abdomen, and lower back;
- difficulty breathing, which can result in cardiac arrest;
- rapid pulse, shortness of breath, dizziness, tremor;
- weakness and vomiting;
- nervous exhaustion, depression;
- clouding of consciousness, impaired perception;
- pale face;
- lacrimation;
- sweating;
- heaviness in the chest area.
Timely treatment ensures improvement in the condition within twenty days. Asthenia and weakness sometimes persist for up to two months.
Karakurt bites are extremely dangerous during the breeding season and after laying eggs, when the concentration of their poison increases. They pose a greater threat to people with low immunity and painful allergic reactions.
Karakurt males are not able to bite through the skin of humans and some animals, and therefore are not dangerous.
Actions after a bite:
- since the spider is only capable of biting through the skin half a millimeter, it turns out to be effective immediate cauterization of the skin(in the first 2 minutes, but no later than 10) so that the poison cannot spread throughout the body;
- sometimes the solution becomes applying ice to the affected area of the body before providing assistance to contain the rate of spread of the poison, as well as immobilization and complete rest for the victim;
- urgently go to the hospital to take an antidote, which is found in the regions where the black widow lives.
A single dose of serum costs about 37 thousand rubles. In case there is no antidote, an injection of potassium permanganate (5 ml 0.1%) with the same compress at the site of the bite or magnesium sulfate 10-15% is acceptable, which will alleviate the suffering of the patient. Novocaine, calcium chloride, and magnesium hydrogen sulfate give good results.
Supportive measures after taking the antidote are:
- hot bath to relieve muscle pain;
- drink plenty of fluids to dissolve toxins;
- rubbing with alcohol;
- enemas;
- painkillers and sleeping pills to help the victim recover (Analgin, Diphenhydramine, Ketanol);
- antihistamines that reduce swelling (Suprastin, Agistam, Loratadine, Claritin).
Without medical intervention, death is possible within a day or two. The number of deaths after a karakurt bite is 4−6%, which occurs due to late admission to the hospital, a person’s predisposition to intoxication, including diseases and weak immunity.
Animal bites
Horses and camels are the most sensitive to a karakurt bite; the consequences for them can be fatal.
Reptiles, amphibians, dogs, sheep, pigs, hedgehogs are not susceptible to the bite of karakurt.
Circumstances of the bite
Most often, a spider attack occurs when the nests or trapping nets of an animal are violated, when the human body is pressed against the spider. This is possible while picking flowers, mowing grass, resting on the ground, or spending the night in nature.
There have been cases of spiders entering barns, woodpiles, rural buildings and latrines. If a karakurt's home is flooded during heavy rains, it is possible that it will enter the house in search of a new home.
Bite protection
Rules for preventing contact with a spider:
- for parking while resting, choose an area unsuitable for karakurt habitat (excluding many rodent holes, vegetation with cobwebs, depressions in the soil);
- do not walk barefoot in areas where black widows may live;
- do not spend the night in the steppe zone on bare ground, use tarpaulins and air mattresses;
- when clearing a place to rest or collecting firewood for a fire, you must wear gloves and tuck your pants into your boots;
- If you find a spider on your clothes, do not touch it with your hands, but knock it down with a snap and shake it off;
- It is not recommended to move stones and walk on rocky terrain at night;
- It is better to close the tents, and when going on a night's rest, shake out the sleeping bags and check the tents, which also applies to shoes;
- do not come into contact with the inner wall of the tent;
- dig around the tent, building a ditch around it;
- wild grasses in a dacha area can be inhabited by karakurts and tarantulas; shoes left in the garden will also be a good idea.
Returning to the description of the barbaric custom of karkurt spiders to kill males who have served their purpose, I would like to mention the observation of researcher Professor Pavel Iustinovich Marikovsky, who kept notes in a diary from nature and recorded the behavior of spiders in photographs. Intrusive courtship from several males at once lasts for more than one day. They prevent the female from eating, start fights, and if she kills them ahead of time, this does not bother the males at all. As a result, the female is forced to leave the home along with the suitors waiting for her, but such measures are temporary.
They pose a huge danger to humans. But these predators are huge and will not go unnoticed. You should know that creatures that are difficult to notice can pose a much greater danger, because they are no larger in size than a five-ruble coin. One of these is the karakurt spider. In this article you will find a description and photo of the karakurt spider, and also learn a lot of new and interesting things about this spider from the genus of black widows.
Karakurt looks like a medium-sized spider. Karakurt females are significantly larger than males in size. The female karakurt grows 2 cm in size, while the male karakurt is only 0.7 cm in size.
Karakurt looks quite unusual. The karakurt spider has a black body, and on its abdomen it has red or orange spots of various shapes. Both male and female karakurt have this coloration. Sometimes there may be a white outline around the spots. Often, upon reaching maturity, the karakurt spider can acquire a completely black color without spots.
Where does the karakurt live?
Karakurt lives in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Iran and Afghanistan, along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, North Africa, southern Europe and Ukraine. In Russia, karakurt lives in the southern regions. The karakurt spider is especially common in the Astrakhan region, Krasnodar region and Crimea.
During particularly hot periods, this spider can migrate to the northern regions, but in such areas the karakurt lives only before the onset of winter. The most favorable living conditions for karakurt are those areas with hot summers and warm autumns. Karakurt lives in desert and steppe zones, wastelands, salt marshes, slopes of ravines and abandoned buildings.
Karakurt bite
The poison of the karakurt is quite strong, so a bite from a karakurt can be fatal. Fortunately, the karakurt attacks only if it is disturbed. Karakurt poison affects both animals and humans. The karakurt bite is not immediately noticeable and manifests itself within 10-15 minutes. During this time, the karakurt poison is already spreading throughout the body and the first signs of toxic poisoning begin to appear. Symptoms of a karakurt bite begin with a burning pain that spreads throughout the body. Typically, patients complain of severe pain in the chest, abdomen and lower back.
Also, a karakurt bite has the following symptoms: increased heart rate, shortness of breath, palpitations, dizziness, headache, trembling, vomiting, sweating, spasms in the bronchi and urinary retention. In the later stages of poisoning, a person begins to experience blackouts and delirium. Cases of death have been recorded in people and farm animals that were bitten by karakurt.
Experts say that people with strong immunity can more easily withstand a karakurt bite than those weakened by illness or those with allergies. It should be remembered that the highest concentration of venom in black widows occurs during the mating season and after laying eggs; in other seasons, bites are less terrible. Males, in principle, do not pose a danger, since they do not possess poison and, due to their small size, cannot bite through the skin.
To neutralize the effects of karakurt poison, anti-karakurt serum is used. Novocaine, calcium chloride and magnesium hydrogen sulfate are also administered intravenously, which give positive results. If it is impossible to get medical help, you should cauterize the karakurt bite with a burning match. But this must be done no later than 5 minutes after the bite. You can also cauterize the bite site with a hot metal object. Since the spider bites through the skin to a depth of only 0.5 mm, the heat destroys the venom that has not had time to be absorbed. But even after cauterization, you must seek medical help.
Livestock suffers from karakurt bites, especially camels and horses. These animals often die from karakurt poison. Once every 10 years, a mass reproduction of the karakurt spider occurs; during these years, livestock farming suffers large losses. Now karakurt is destroyed with the help of insecticides that are sprayed on the soil. Of course, the poison of the karakurt is not aimed at causing harm to humans or livestock, but serves the spider only to obtain food. Karakurt eats various beetles, flies, locusts, cicadas and grasshoppers.
The karakurt spider is called a black widow, since the female karakurt kills her husband after mating. But the black widow of the karakurt will not much outlive the eaten spouse, because with the onset of cold weather the female dies.
Karakurts become capable of reproducing at the beginning of summer and begin migrating in search of partners. With the onset of heat (July-August), females and males of karakurt arrange temporary mating networks. After which the female karakurt looks for a secluded place to set up a den, where she can place cocoons with eggs.
Such places often become various depressions in the soil, abandoned rodent holes, as well as drainage of ventilation systems. At the entrance to the lair, she stretches a chaotically intertwined web. The female karakurt hangs 2-4 cocoons in the den, where they will survive the winter.
In April, the karakurt cubs will leave their cocoons. With the onset of summer, mature karakurt cubs will go in search of partners. Despite the fact that the karakurt spider is very prolific and has a very strong poison, it still has enemies in nature. The enemies of the karakurt spider are hedgehogs, wasps and riders. It is also common for karakurt eggs to be destroyed by herds of sheep and pigs, who simply trample them.
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Karakurt or steppe widow is a species of spider that belongs to the genus of black widows. A distinctive feature of females of this species is the presence of thirteen red, sometimes with a white border, dots or spots on the upper surface of the abdomen.
Karakurts are widespread in the desert zone of Kazakhstan, in the countries of Central Asia, in Iran, Afghanistan, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, the Yenisei, in the countries of North Africa and southern Europe, in the Ukrainian Crimea, in the Astrakhan region of Russia. They are also found in the Rostov, Volgograd, Saratov, Orenburg, Novosibirsk regions of Russia, in the Odessa, Kherson, Nikolaev regions of Ukraine, in the Altai Territory, and also in Azerbaijan.
In hot years, steppe widows can move north, for example, to the Moscow region. Cases of detection of spiders of this species have also been recorded in higher latitudes. However, they can live there exclusively until winter. The ideal climatic conditions for Karakurt are hot summers and warm autumns. You can come across them in virgin wormwood, melon fields, along the banks of small reservoirs, on the slopes of ravines, in various wastelands and landfills. Recently, there has been a migration of karakurts to areas of relatively dense human habitation. They settle in barns, courtyard buildings, woodpiles, and rural latrines. During prolonged heavy rains, karakurts can penetrate people's houses.
The bite of a female karakurt poses a mortal danger to humans and even large animals such as camels and horses. This is due to the presence of a poison-producing apparatus in this type of arachnid. Venom glands are located in the cephalothorax. Thin ducts connect them with the movable claws of the upper jaws. The glands have a special muscular membrane. When attacked by a karakurt, these muscles contract sharply, and through the ducts the poison is instantly injected into the victim’s body. The male karakurt, which is much less impressive in size, is not able to bite through human skin.
How to avoid a karakurt bite
You can reliably protect yourself from the dangerous poison of the karakurt by adhering to a number of simple rules while relaxing or working outdoors in the habitats of the karakurt.
Firstly, for parking in the field, choose flat areas without stones, cracks, a large number of rodent holes, accumulations of dry vegetation, cobwebs in soil depressions and on plants, that is, places unsuitable for the life of these arachnids.
Secondly, tightly close the entrance to the tent or use special canopies. Don't leave your tent open all day.
Thirdly, when camping, store your clothes and shoes inside the tent, and when you wake up, carefully inspect it before putting it on. Before going to bed, also carefully examine your bed or sleeping bag.
Fourthly, if you don’t have a tent, under no circumstances sleep in the steppe on bare ground. Lie down on a tarpaulin or air mattress.
Fifthly, do not walk barefoot in areas where karakurts are likely to live.
Sixth, collect hay, straw, brushwood for a fire, clear forest belts and wastelands while wearing gloves and protective clothing. Tuck pants legs into socks and shoes.
Seventh, do not turn over rocks or move randomly on rocky terrain at night.
Eighth, always be on your guard, watch where you step, where you stretch your hand, where you sit down.
Ninth, promptly destroy wild grasses on the territory of households and personal plots in which karakurts can settle.
Tenth, never touch spiders and their cocoons with your hands.
What are the consequences of a karakurt bite?
A person meets a karakurt very often, but tens and even hundreds of such contacts go unnoticed by him. Karakurt is a very gentle creature. You can kill him by simply crushing him in the folds of his clothing. However, under favorable circumstances for a bite, he can, in defense, bite through human skin and inject a microscopic dose of poison there.
The toxicity of karakurt poison is influenced by many factors: seasonal, age, gender, etc. The venom of sexually mature females is particularly toxic. Karakurts begin to bite in May-early June. However, bites are also possible during the warm winter season, when their biological clock is disrupted. The peak of spider activity is observed in July-August. At the same time, the toxicity of their poison increases significantly.
It is noteworthy that the moment of a karakurt bite can be compared to a pin prick. The victim may not even feel it right away. However, after 10-15 minutes, a burning pain occurs at the site of the bite. It quickly spreads throughout the body, spreading to the joints of the arms and legs, shoulder blades, stomach, and lower back. Very painful sensations also appear in the lymph nodes. The pain is acute, cramping in nature, reaches its maximum 1-2 hours after the bite and can last up to several days.
Signs of local reaction:
- slight swelling,
- slight redness,
- decreased sensitivity at the site of the bite.
A karakurt bite is accompanied by a very rapid development of general poisoning phenomena, which include:
- severe weakness and pain in the legs just a few minutes after the bite,
- psychomotor agitation (screams, groans, throwing from side to side),
- feeling of fear,
- hallucinations,
- clonic, tonic convulsions, muscle spasms.
The subsequent development of events depends on the toxicity of the poison, the condition of the victim’s body and the location of the bite. A bite to higher parts of the body reduces the likelihood of a successful outcome.
In severe cases, symptoms are supplemented by shortness of breath, irregular breathing rhythm, hyper- and then hypotension, and kidney damage. Victims can recover within 7-10 days; on days 3-4 the temperature may rise to 38.5-39°C and a rash may appear.
A karakurt bite is quite rare and fatal, although such cases are recorded from time to time.
What should not be done if bitten by a karakurt
You should not make various incisions, neither cross-shaped in the area of the wound, nor stripes along the length of the entire lower leg, thigh, and other parts of the body. Such incisions are not only absolutely useless, but also quite dangerous, as they additionally injure the person.
The tourniquet should not be applied either above or below the level of the bite. It will only do harm.
What measures can you take if you are bitten by a karakurt?
To treat poisoning from karakurt poison, a special antitoxic serum is used. Therefore, the victim should be taken to a medical facility as quickly as possible.
However, on the way to a medical facility or while waiting for a doctor, a person who has been bitten can and should be given first aid, which consists of the following:
1. First of all, you should suck out the poison from the wound. In the absence of any available means that can create a vacuum, you can suck out the poison with your mouth. But such sucking is allowed only in the absence of wounds, stomatitis, caries, gingivitis, periodontitis and other diseases of the oral cavity in the sucker. Otherwise, the poison may enter his circulatory system. After completing the suction procedure, you must rinse your mouth thoroughly with water.
Suction is effective only in the first 5-10 minutes, after which it is no longer useful.
2. If an arm or leg is bitten, it should be immobilized as much as possible. It is also necessary to minimize the movement of the victim himself.
4. In case of chills, feeling cold and muscle tension, warming the extremities is allowed.
5. To reduce pain, you can apply a cold compress to the bite site. You can also use any painkiller.
Interesting facts about karakurts and their bites
- There is an opinion that the venom of the steppe widow is stronger than the venom of rattlesnakes. At least a snake has to spend more poison to kill an adult man than a steppe widow.
- A karakurt bite is fatal in approximately 5% of cases.
- The pain in various parts of the body after poisoning with karakurt poison is so severe that doctors often diagnose acute abdomen or myocardial infarction in these cases, which is fraught with many sad consequences.
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