Arachnids Weekly ================ "A Weekly Digest of the Arachnid World" Compiled/Edited by Martin Overton Volume 1 Number 10 Published 28th September 1998 Disclaimer ========== This document is an honest attempt to help, it can *not* be regarded as being in any sense authoritative, and has no legal standing. The authors/editor accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for any ill effects resulting from the use of any information contained in this newsletter. Not all the views expressed in this document are mine, and those views that are mine, are not necessarily shared by my employer, the BTS, its membership or its committee. -- Martin Overton Copyright Notice ================ Copyright on all contributions to this newsletter remains with the authors and all rights are reserved. It may, however, be freely distributed and quoted -accurately, and with due credit. It may not be reproduced for profit or distributed in part, or as a whole with any product, for which a charge is made, except with the prior permission of the copyright holders. To obtain such permission, please contact the editor of this newsletter. Availability ============ The latest version (and back issues) of this newsletter are available from: http://chekware.simplenet.com/burrow/digest Editorial: --------- Welcome to the TENTH issue of this Newsletter (yes we finally made it into double figures, still better late than never?) *** IMPORTANT *** Please DO NOT REPLY TO ARACHNIDS@SALIG.DEMON.CO.UK or ARCHNIDS@INAME.COMas this WILL cause the mail to be bounced. All replies should be sent to: Martin.Overton@Earthling.net "This is *your* newsletter and I am keen to publish articles and letters from you." Some of you are starting to get the hint ;-) Ooops! Typo alert2: The hyperlink to the article on Dr. Bustards T. Blondi should have been the following (Vol1 No9): http://chekware.simplenet.com/burrow/bustard.htm Sorry for any confusion caused. As you would expect, all feedback, flames, suggestions, hate mail, articles, etc. should be sent to me (the Editor) at the following email address: Martin.Overton@Earthling.net Just to clarify a point, my comments, replies, etc. in this newsletter are enclosed in [] (square brackets). I've dropped the Ed suffix as it may cause some confusion. Martin. Letters: ------- [YES there are some more this issue! ;-)] To: Martin Overton Subject: Re: Arachnids weekly From: Dan Pixley Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 13:47:18 -0700 Hey Martin, Nice issue this week. [Thank you!] [Snip!] Also, may I fill in at the "view from the ATS"? [Certainly, welcome to the mad house ;-)] From:Lelle Pettersson Hi ! I was reading your latest Arachnids Weekly and found the "Did you know.." It isnt all true that only the male of the Sydney Funnel Web is venomous to humans, the female are capabel of killing humans aswell. However, the males venom are six times more potent then the females and it is the males that more often bites people, often when they are looking for a female. Regards Lelle Pettersson [Lelle's right, the female is also venomous, but to clarify things read the Topic of the Week as a full reply is required.] Got a point to raise, disagree with something raised here or got something you would like to share with the other readers of this newsletter, then send me your electrons and I'll see what I can do! Topic of the week: ----------------- When The Male *is* Deadlier Than The Female ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This article was created to offer some clarification to the 'Did You Know ...' entry in last weeks edition. I have spent a fair bit of time over the last week scouring the web and re-reading some of my arachnid books to try and get to the bottom of this issue, and I believe the information presented here clearly shows that the Male of the species (Atrax robustus) is clearly the culprit of all the bites reported. The female, although venomous is *not* considered a threat to humans. The first good web source I found was: http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic548.htm Authored by Simon G. A. Brown, M.D., Staff Specialist, Department of Emergency Medicine, Royal Hobart Hospital He states: "Bites from these spiders are remarkable in two respects. Firstly, the venom affects man and monkeys far more than other creatures. Second, only the bite from the *male* appears to be dangerous, a reversal of the situation with other highly poisonous spiders. Venom toxicity is consistently several times higher in the male than the female and the male behavior pattern of permanently leaving the burrow to seek a mate leads it to enter houses and find it's way into clothing and bedding." He continues... "Funnel web spiders are restricted to the eastern and southern regions of Australia. The distribution of the Sydney funnel web (Atrax robustus) centers on the greater Sydney area, extending north to the Hunter River, south to the Shoalhaven River and westwards to Lithgow. Hadronyche spp. have a much wider distribution from south east Queensland to Victoria, Tasmania and parts of South Australia. To date, serious envenomations have been reported only from the Sydney-Newcastle-Illawarra region, however all funnel web bites must be treated with caution. It has been estimated that 30-40 cases of funnel web spider bite occur each year in eastern and southern Australia but only a small number (perhaps 1 in 10) require treatment with antivenom. Mortality/Morbidity: Fatalities have only been recorded following bites by Atrax robustus. The death rate is difficult to determine from data from the pre-antivenom era. Between 1927 and 1980, 13 deaths attributed to Atrax robustus were reported in the medical literature and news media. Severe envenomation, but not death, has been reported following bites by Hadronyche spp. Death occurs between 15 minutes and 3 days. Children tend to die earlier from pulmonary edema, whereas adults tend to die later from persistent hypotension or other complications." Another Source at: http://www.sci.uts.edu.au/depts/hs/SpidersRes.html States.... "Many contain lethal neurotoxins but the 14 human fatalities, recorded since 1927, following envenomation have all been attributed to the *male* Sydney funnel-web spider Atrax robustus. Fortunately, following the introduction of an antivenom in late 1980 no new fatalities have been attributed to the bite of this group of spiders. Dr Nicholson maintains a colony of Blue mountains funnel-web (Hadronyche versuta) and Sydney funnel-web (Atrax robustus) spiders which are regularly milked for their venom. Milking is achieved by the use of a Pasteur pipette connnected to a vacuum pump to remove the venom which collects at the end of the chelicerae." Conclusion: I believe that this clearly shows that although the female of Atrax robustus is venomous (estimates vary from a quarter to a sixth of the males potency) there are no substansiated bites from females of this species, due mainly to the fact that the female doesn't come into contact with humans as often as the males. During the breeding season the males are often responsible for biting innocent humans, as they are very aggressive and tend to attack at the slightest provocation whilst looking for a mate. [Of course if I haven't convinced you or you have data that counters my arguments then feel free to reply.] Arachnid Media News: ------------------- This section covers arachnid related news from the media (papers, TV, non-specialist magazines). If you find a story PLEASE send it to me for possible inclusion in a future newsletter, thanks! As with most media stories, don't take them too seriously. 8/31/98 Spider Fighting MANILA, Philippines - Education officials in a southern Philippine province have banned spider wrestling, a favorite children's pastime in many rural areas, to discourage students from skipping classes to catch spiders, an official said Thursday. The ban began last week after education officials noticed that an increasing number of absences among school children were traced to the game, said Isidro Valeroso, superintendent of the Department of Education in North Cotabato province. Valeroso said spider wrestling, in which children collect spiders and have them fight to the death on a stick, also encourages children to gamble. The spiders wrestle ferociously for a few seconds amid the cheers of children. The battle ends when the champion completely wraps the vanquished spider in a cocoon of webbing. Children often bet on the outcome. Children usually go to meadows or farms at dawn or dusk to catch spiders, sometimes skipping classes or coming in late. They usually house their best "gladiators" in matchboxes. Many aficionados spend large amounts of time searching for the best spiders. Most of the spiders are collected from trees but some children say the best fighters are found on electric power lines. A prized fighter sells for up to 100 pesos ($2.40). "We have to teach children that spiders are a farmer's best friend because they catch insects that destroy or damage crops," Valeroso said. "We really have to stop children from killing spiders." What's In A Name: ---------------- We all love those wonderful scientific (latin) names, right? Have you ever wondered what the correct pronunciation is, and how to say them without tripping over your tongue or feeling stupid when you find out you said it wrong all these years? Well this section is a regular feature, that will cover arachnid nomenclature and pronunciation. The occasional insight to what the word means will also be given, where possible. Capitals are said as that letter and lower case letters are pronounced as the sound that letter makes. This weeks name is: Avicularia A-vic-U-lair-E-a This literarly means: Bird Killer Did You Know...: --------------- A-fact-a-week. Interesting arachnid related facts.If you have some to share then drop me a line. [Just to add more fuel to the fire ;-)] "Only the female of the Black Widow is considered venomous to humans" Arachnid of the week (species file) ----------------------------------- A short guide to a tarantula species, this week it's... The African Horned Tarantula (Ceratogyrus darlingi) This is a large fawny-brown spider first described by Pocock in 1897. It has a very distinct 'hump or 'horn' that is rear-facing which has black lines radiating from the horn across the carapace. A native of Mozambique and Zimbabwe, it lives in deep burrows from which it emerges at night to hunt small vertebrates and insects. This is a very aggressive species, certainly not for those new to the hobby, and this spider should not be handled as a bite from this species would be very painful, although their venom is believed to be no more than mildly toxic to humans. The requirements in captivity are: As for keeping them as pets, many people keep these in large 12x12x12 (inches) tanks. Like the other African species they require high humidity levels (above 75%) but you must be careful to avoid the air in the tank becoming stagnant as this appears to be the cause of some deaths in captivity. As these are deep burrowers, the ideal substrate is peat or peat/ vermiculite mix, this must be at least 4 inches deep. An open water dish is a must, as is regular mistings to keep that humidity level high! Food: All standard invertebrates or pinkies (pre-killed NOT live!) Geographic Range: Mozambique and Zimbabwe (East Africa) Aggressiveness: Generally considered *very* aggressive. Temperature range: 75-78 farenheit. Mailing List News: ----------------- Due to popular demand there is now a new mailing list that you can subscribe to if you want to find or get rid of some arachnids or related equipment. Arachnids For Sale / Wanted Details on how to subscribe appear later in this newsletter. You can also get the alt.pets.archnids Tarantula FAQ via e-mail: Simply send an e-mail to: apatarantulafaq@toaster.freeserve.co.uk You will receive the FAQ as an email. Anyone who wants to offer other FAQs this way should drop me a line at the usual email address. View from the arachnid mailing list: ----------------------------------- As usual this mailing list run by Ed Welbon is a hive of activity! Topics over the last week have included: freshly molted Brachypelmides klaasi (The Brachy from hell) Tarantula import question Hatchlings Breeding loans what is it? maternal care Taxa in confusion View from the scorpion mailing list: ----------------------------------- This list is proving to be popular and the number of postings is increasing! Topics raised this week include: Help my Pandinus! Sting remedy Emperors sratching ccorpions deadly bark scorp invasion and list problems View from the alt.pets.arachnids usenet newsgroup: ------------------------------------------------- This newsgroup (which is still relatively new) is rather sporadic. Sometimes more than a week goes by and no postings appear (apart from the FAQ's) and other times it gets quite busy. Feeding moths to tarantulas Avondale Spider, photos wanted Some more Theraphosa blondi questions molting questions BUYING TARANTULAS Preperation of spiders View from the BTS: ----------------- Well, where are all the BTS members? Any BTS member (other than me) want to fill this spot? Pete? View from the ATS: ----------------- Well, Dan Pixley has kindly offered to fill this spot. His first peice of news appears below. Welcome aboard Dan! The ATS web site has been updated: new places to check out are the "Book Store" and "Bad Scientific Names". The second is a whole new list of commonly misspelled names and also species not really in the pet trade. All at http://torgo.cnchost.com/ats/. Event calendar: -------------- 10 October: Reptile show Giessen (Germany) Tarantulas, Turtles and Tortoises, Amphibians, Snakes, Insects, Lizards, etc. Hessenhallen Rodheimerstrasse 35398 Giessen Open: 10:00 - ? (for sellers open at 7:00 AM) 5000 square meters Entrance fees: ? Tables: DM 25,- / meter Info: Hans Josef Rolinski Tel.: (0)6483 / 7528 Fax: (0)6483 / 2112 Got an event, know about one coming up? Then let me have the details and I'll post it here for you. It doesn't matter whether it's for a small local club, large society, trade show, excuse for a drink, etc. The Meeting Place: ----------------- There are now a number of on-line chat sites dedicated to arachnids. (I have 3 on my web (http://chekware.simplenet.com/ burrow/lists.htm site alone!) The problem is with these systems, is when you want to chat there is rarely anyone else on the system at the same time. To try and resolve this I will add meeting requests to this part of the newsletter. So if you want to get a group chat going, you know what to do, drop me a line with the details. Subscribing to the mailing lists, etc: ------------------------------------- Alt.Pets.Arachnids: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To gain access to this newsgroup: From your browser enter the following into the address box: news:alt.pets.arachnids If this does not work then your service provider does not carry this group. You can request for it to be added to their news server, or if you want immediate access then enter the following in your browsers address box: http://search.dejanews.com/bg.xp?level=alt.pets.arachnids You can both read and post from DejaNews. The Scorpion Mailing List: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Send an email to macjordomo@wrbu.si.edu with the following in the body of your email message SUBSCRIBE scorpion-enthusiasts You can get a list of the commands and the options that this listserver accepts, by sending a message with "HELP" in the body of a message to macjordomo@wrbu.si.edu. The Arachnid Mailing List: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Send an email to Majordomo@lists.realtime.net with the following command in the body of your email message: subscribe arachnid your_email_address The Arachnids Weekly Digest: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Send an e-mail to arachnids@iname.com with the following command as the BODY of your email message: SUBSCRIBE ARACHNIDS EXIT The Arachnids For Sale / Wanted Mailing List: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Send an e-mail to arachnids@iname.com with the following command as the BODY of your email message: SUBSCRIBE ARACHNIDS-FSW EXIT The Millipede Mailing List: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To join go to: http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/millipede Description: Millipedes and centipedes - their natural history, taxonomy, husbandry, and exhibition. Societies: ~~~~~~~~~ The British Tarantula Society Mrs. Ann Webb, 81 Phillimore Place, Radlett, HERTFORDSHIRE WD7 8NJ UNITED KINGDOM Membership Rates: UK/EUROPE 10 UK Pounds per year. Elsewhere 16 UK Pounds per year. The American Tarantula Society Robert Gale Breene III, PO Box 1617 Artesia, NM 88211-1617 USA Membership Rates: US $15 per year, Canada $20. Elsewhere $35. The Dutch Tarantula Society (Werkgroep Vogelspinnen) Gert Baarda Roderwolderdijk 10 9744 TG, Groningen Holland Membership Rates: DFL 35 per year. For more information, Email: Thomas Ezendam: ceratogyrus@bigfoot.com ------------------------------------------------- Anymore societies out there that would like their details included? Let me know! Suggestions for other sections? ------------------------------- Cartoons: Poetry: Web Site Reviews: Well that's all folks for this week. I hope you enjoyed this issue? Don't forget to let me have your feedback, articles, offers of help, etc! Regards, Martin Overton.