1
00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,440
Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey

2
00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:11,879
Speaker 1: brain Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum here. David Nelson, now an associate

3
00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:15,880
Speaker 1: professor of biology at Southern Adventist University in College Dale, Tennessee,

4
00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:20,200
Speaker 1: remembers being a PhD student sprawling on his belly under

5
00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:23,159
Speaker 1: the slide at the elementary school playground in search of

6
00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:27,280
Speaker 1: a tangled web of the lectri dectus hesperate, otherwise known

7
00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,880
Speaker 1: as the Western black widow spider. Hid know it when

8
00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:33,880
Speaker 1: he saw it, the sticky silk threads spun in messy

9
00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:38,440
Speaker 1: snarls characteristic of such wondrous creatures. If he nudged the

10
00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:40,920
Speaker 1: web in just the right place with his long pair

11
00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:43,960
Speaker 1: of forceps, he could catch the spider before it escaped

12
00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:46,640
Speaker 1: and tuck it into one of his plastic bags where

13
00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:51,320
Speaker 1: dozens of other black widows lay in wait. It didn't

14
00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:53,880
Speaker 1: matter to him that one bite from the shiny black

15
00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:57,560
Speaker 1: spider could send his muscles into painful spasms within minutes,

16
00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,360
Speaker 1: that even if he went to the emergency room writhing

17
00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,520
Speaker 1: in pain, doctors likely wouldn't have the anti venom to

18
00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:06,880
Speaker 1: treat him. That would have to wait out the burning, throbbing,

19
00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:11,039
Speaker 1: and involuntary muscle contractions for hours or possibly days, until

20
00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:16,399
Speaker 1: the symptoms eventually subsided. Nelson wasn't concerned because he was

21
00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:20,040
Speaker 1: getting to know these and I quote sexy little organisms

22
00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:23,759
Speaker 1: rather well. They played a starring role in his doctoral

23
00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:28,760
Speaker 1: research and he wanted to understand them better. So how

24
00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,360
Speaker 1: did the black widow spider get its name and why

25
00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:35,440
Speaker 1: does it have such a reputation. Nelson says he chose

26
00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:38,679
Speaker 1: the black widow for his research because quote their mysterious

27
00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:42,360
Speaker 1: and dangerous. Indeed, the black widow is technically one of

28
00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:46,319
Speaker 1: the deadliest spiders in the world. About black widow bites

29
00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:48,760
Speaker 1: are reported to the u S National Poison Data System

30
00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:52,560
Speaker 1: each year. But its name comes not so much from

31
00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,840
Speaker 1: the spider's ability to kill humans, but from a cannibalistic

32
00:01:55,880 --> 00:02:01,040
Speaker 1: behavior noticed the species during copulation. A science collected samples

33
00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:03,560
Speaker 1: of male and female black widows and stored them in

34
00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,440
Speaker 1: the same container. When they came back to check on

35
00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:09,880
Speaker 1: the spiders, they discovered that the female widows had eaten

36
00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:14,840
Speaker 1: the males. This so called spider cannibalism is not too

37
00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:17,880
Speaker 1: rare in the spider world in general. Nelson says it

38
00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:21,400
Speaker 1: usually involves the female eating the male before during or

39
00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:25,440
Speaker 1: after copulation, but it is rarely seen in black widows

40
00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:29,640
Speaker 1: that inhabit North America. Black widow males in nature tend

41
00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:33,320
Speaker 1: to escape quickly after copulating a luxury that they weren't

42
00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:37,720
Speaker 1: afforded caged together with females in the laboratory setting. Also,

43
00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:41,040
Speaker 1: research shows that black widows can sense chemicals and the

44
00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:44,960
Speaker 1: female's web that indicate whether she has recently eaten. They

45
00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:50,000
Speaker 1: know to avoid hungry females just in case. Black widows

46
00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:56,639
Speaker 1: build their tangled cobwebs in dark, dry places, woodpiles, barns, greenhouses, basements, outhouses,

47
00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:00,360
Speaker 1: in the chains, hollow stumps, under lawn furniture, in playground oquipment,

48
00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:03,880
Speaker 1: and in dense vegetation. They hide during the day in

49
00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:07,000
Speaker 1: tiny crevices or rodent holes, and creep out onto their

50
00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,639
Speaker 1: webs during the night. When they do, they usually hang

51
00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:13,959
Speaker 1: upside down, waiting for a fly or grasshopper to get

52
00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:17,640
Speaker 1: trapped in the sticky threads of their web. When an

53
00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:20,560
Speaker 1: insect gets caught, the widow quickly runs over and wraps

54
00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:23,919
Speaker 1: it in silk. Then, at meal time, the spider digs

55
00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:27,160
Speaker 1: its fangs into its prey, injecting the insect with digestive

56
00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:30,520
Speaker 1: juices until it liquefies, and then the widow sucks up

57
00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:35,560
Speaker 1: the resulting bug juice. So how can you tell when

58
00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:38,040
Speaker 1: you're face to face, so to speak, with a black

59
00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:43,360
Speaker 1: widow spider? Here are the identifying characteristics. Female black widow

60
00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:45,600
Speaker 1: spiders are about an inch and a half or three

61
00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:48,880
Speaker 1: point eight centimeters in length with long legs. Mails are

62
00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,160
Speaker 1: about half that size. Female black widow spiders have a

63
00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:54,920
Speaker 1: shiny black body with the well known hourglass shape on

64
00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:59,120
Speaker 1: their abdomens in red, red, orange, or yellow. Males are

65
00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:02,280
Speaker 1: lighter in color with red or pink spots, but color

66
00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:06,800
Speaker 1: variations and markings vary depending on the species. Black widow

67
00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:09,920
Speaker 1: spiders are generally not aggressive, though only by the person

68
00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:13,560
Speaker 1: if they're touched, trapped, or sat upon. There are thirty

69
00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:16,839
Speaker 1: two species of spiders in the Latrodectus genus, many of

70
00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:20,040
Speaker 1: which are considered true widows. You can find black widows

71
00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:24,640
Speaker 1: in every continent of the world except Antarctica. But again,

72
00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:28,760
Speaker 1: black widows are not aggressive. They're shy. Even if you

73
00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:31,360
Speaker 1: find one, there's no point in grabbing bug spray or

74
00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,359
Speaker 1: swatting it dead. They won't come after you. In fact,

75
00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:36,600
Speaker 1: they don't want to be around you as much as

76
00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:38,719
Speaker 1: you don't want to be around them, leave them be.

77
00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:42,440
Speaker 1: Nelson has found that if you pick a black widow

78
00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:45,800
Speaker 1: spiders webs, they'll bolt for cover. If they can't hide,

79
00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:49,000
Speaker 1: they'll play dead. If you touch them and they can't escape,

80
00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:53,440
Speaker 1: they will dig their fangs into you. But interestingly, if

81
00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:55,760
Speaker 1: you pull gently on one of their legs with a

82
00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:58,800
Speaker 1: pair of feather light tweezers, they'll reach back into their

83
00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:02,800
Speaker 1: spinneret and a sticky strand of silk your way. This

84
00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:06,240
Speaker 1: defensive silk, which Nelson describes as a looking quote just

85
00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:09,760
Speaker 1: like a pearl necklace, sticks to predators, drives quickly, and

86
00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:13,480
Speaker 1: can afford the widow extra time to get away. He said,

87
00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:16,760
Speaker 1: I know of no other spiders that actively protect themselves

88
00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,960
Speaker 1: with silk. Plus, black widows play an important role in

89
00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:25,359
Speaker 1: our ecosystem, feasting on many insects species, especially small, annoying

90
00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:30,240
Speaker 1: insects like mosquitoes and flies. Bites usually occur by accident,

91
00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:32,760
Speaker 1: for instance, if you stick your hand in a gardening

92
00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:36,200
Speaker 1: glove and startle one that's hiding there. Females are much

93
00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:39,479
Speaker 1: more likely than males to envenomate, that is, inject venom

94
00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:43,320
Speaker 1: into humans. The venom is pretty potent, up to fifteen

95
00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:46,920
Speaker 1: times stronger than a rattlesnakes. You can actually die from

96
00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:50,800
Speaker 1: a black widow bite, but it's unlikely. One study looking

97
00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:53,560
Speaker 1: at twenty three thousand, four hundred and nine cases of

98
00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:56,599
Speaker 1: exposure to black widow venom found that only one point

99
00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:59,960
Speaker 1: four percent of patients had life threatening symptoms and six

100
00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:04,159
Speaker 1: five percent had minor symptoms. Young children, the elderly, and

101
00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:06,880
Speaker 1: people with compromised immunity are at a greater risk of

102
00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:11,880
Speaker 1: serious complications. Black widow venom is so dangerous because it

103
00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:15,760
Speaker 1: contains neurotoxins, which are toxins that act on the nervous system,

104
00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:20,119
Speaker 1: called later toxins. If they're tiny, fangs do break your skin,

105
00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:22,559
Speaker 1: which will feel like a pin prick, and the venom

106
00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,760
Speaker 1: does enter your bloodstream, you'd know pretty quickly. Within seconds,

107
00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:28,960
Speaker 1: you would feel pain and throbbing at the bite site.

108
00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:32,160
Speaker 1: The area around your wound would begin to swell As

109
00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:34,760
Speaker 1: a venom traveled through your bloodstream, The pain, swelling and

110
00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:38,400
Speaker 1: muscle contractions would spread as well. If your diaphragm was affected,

111
00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,640
Speaker 1: breathing would become labored, your heart might begin to race,

112
00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:47,080
Speaker 1: and you might become nauseated sweat, or experienced chills. For

113
00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:49,320
Speaker 1: minor bites, all you need to do is wash the

114
00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:51,680
Speaker 1: affected area with soap and water and taken over the

115
00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:55,440
Speaker 1: counter pain medication. But if you have serious symptoms like

116
00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:59,480
Speaker 1: the ones described above, seek medical attention. Healthcare provider can

117
00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:02,599
Speaker 1: better treat pain, and if they decide that the FDA

118
00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:05,640
Speaker 1: proved Blackwadow anti venom is necessary, and if they have

119
00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:09,640
Speaker 1: it available, it's availability is limited, you'll feel better within hours.

120
00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:13,760
Speaker 1: It's unlikely that you'll be hospitalized and even less likely

121
00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:21,640
Speaker 1: that you'd die. Today's episode was written by Jennifer Walker

122
00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:24,160
Speaker 1: Joony and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this

123
00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:26,440
Speaker 1: months of other topics that we've spun out, visit how

124
00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:29,040
Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of I

125
00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:31,880
Speaker 1: heart Radio or more podcasts. My heart Radio visit the

126
00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,800
Speaker 1: iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

127
00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:35,680
Speaker 1: your favorite shows,