Are Brazilian Wandering Spiders Really As Dangerous As The Experts Claim?
Are Brazilian Wandering Spiders Really As Dangerous As The Experts Claim?
Brazilian wandering spiders, or banana spiders as they are also known, have become notorious the world over for their “deadly” bites. The wandering spiders are members of the Phoneutria family. The term “Phoneutria” means “murderess” in Greek, and this does not do much to dispel the myth that wandering spiders are the most dangerous spiders in the world. However, many reputable researchers agree that the wandering spider is, indeed, one of the most venomous spiders on earth, but there are many other eight-legged contenders for this title.
These days, with the advanced antivenoms that are available in any medical facility, deaths resulting from a bite sustained by a wandering spider are extremely rare. The Guinness Book of World Records has named the Brazilian wandering spider as the most venomous spider on earth.
However, according to an arachnologist, Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal, it can be tricky classifying a single spider as the most “deadly”. Just because a spider may be the most venomous of all spiders, this does not mean that it can cause death, or even penetrate human skin for that matter. Classifying a spider as being the most venomous also causes problems in the scientific community. For example, the amount of damage sustained as a result of being injected with spider venom depends on how much venom actually makes it into the bite-victims bloodstream. Also, much of what researchers do know about wandering spider venom, and its effects, depends almost entirely on how rats responded to wandering spider venom during experiments. Naturally, since rats are much smaller than humans, these rat-based experiments still do not tell us much about how venomous the Brazilian wandering spider is relative to other spiders that inject venom into their prey. So if you do encounter a Brazilian wandering spider, then you will certainly want to leave it alone, and be cautious, but not afraid.
Have you ever know someone to have sustained a bite from a Brazilian wandering spider?