What you need to know about the karakurt spider? Karakurt is the most dangerous inhabitant of Crimea (4 photos) Where does the karakurt spider live?

Many consider the snake to be the most insidious and dangerous creature in the world. However, there lives on our planet a small spider whose bite is 15 times more poisonous than a bite snakes. This is a karakurt, which is considered one of the most poisonous spiders on earth, and therefore it is worth getting to know it better.

What is a karakurt spider?

The name of the spider is translated as “kara” (black) and “kurt” (worm). In Kalmyk language karakurt sounds like "black Widow". This name fully justifies itself. The thing is that after mating, spiders devour their partners, and this happens with each subsequent gentleman.

Females differ from males very much. The average size of a spider is 10-20 mm, and the male is usually quite small, only 4-7 mm. They are black in color with thirteen red dots on the upper side of the abdomen. It is these spots that are their hallmark. Interestingly, upon reaching sexual maturity, these spots may disappear.

Karakurt spiders have very powerful " chemical weapons" - poison. They need it to hunt various insects. In addition, with its help they destroy steppe animals, for example, gophers, in whose burrows they then begin to weave their webs. If they are not disturbed, they will not attack, but in case of danger they begin to attack instantly.

Habitat

Very often this spider can be found in the following places:

There are known cases of their discovery in the south of the Urals, in territories bordering Kazakhstan. Spiders began to be found in Azerbaijan, as well as in Rostov region. If the weather is very hot, karakurts can move to northern regions, for example, in the Moscow region. They can also be found at higher latitudes, but they live there only before the onset of winter. Ideal conditions for their accommodation hot summer and warm autumn.

Karakurts live mainly in the steppes, in ditches, salt marshes, on the slopes of ravines, and in abandoned villages. They weave webs in cracks in the ground, in potholes, and rodent burrows, where they then attach web cocoons with clutches of eggs in July-August. After a week, the spiderlings hatch from the eggs, however, only next spring do they begin to crawl out of the cocoon. The air temperature at this time reaches 30 degrees. In autumn, all adult representatives of karakurts die.

These spiders feed on hedgehogs, wasps, and ichneumon beetles. Flocks of sheep often trample down their nests.

Reproduction

Karakurt spiders are highly fertile and every 10-12 years Their rapid proliferation is observed. To lay eggs, the female weaves a web in soil cracks, rodent burrows, and in the drains of ventilation systems. The spiderlings spend the winter in a cocoon and crawl out of it in April. In June, spiders become sexually mature. As soon as it comes hot weather, karakurts begin to look for protected places for mating. Then the females begin to look for places to lay eggs.

Why is a karakurt bite dangerous?

Considered the most poisonous sexually mature females, and males are not able to bite through human skin. July-August marks the peak of spider activity, when females begin migrating. Their poison is 15 times stronger than poison most poisonous snake. They move very quickly and can attack unnoticed.

Females never attack first. This only happens if she is accidentally pressed down, and she may bite in defense. This mainly happens at night while relaxing in nature, less often during the day.

At the site of the spider bite, a small red spot, but it disappears very quickly. The bite itself is not very painful, however, when the poison begins to act, severe pain occurs in this place. A person experiences strong mental agitation, panic and fear of death, spasms and suffocation. Victims with a heart condition may not be able to withstand this condition.

After 10-15 minutes, very severe pain occurs in the abdomen, chest and lower back, and the legs begin to numb. Vomiting, headache and dizziness appear. The face becomes bluish, the pulse begins to slow down and arrhythmia occurs, and protein appears in the urine. After this the patient lethargy occurs, however, severe pain causes him great discomfort. After 5 days, rashes appear on the skin, and the condition improves slightly. Final recovery occurs after 3 weeks, and the patient remains weak for a month.

Treatment

If help is not provided in a timely manner, the victim may die.

Fortunately, deaths from a karakurt spider bite are quite rare.

Prevention

The karakurt spider can live in forest clearings, parks, squares, summer cottages. That is why, when going for a walk, you need to observe the following safety precautions:

If you know that such spiders live in the area, it is better not to spend the night in the open air.
Contact of sleeping areas with the inner walls of tents should be avoided.
If there is a need to stop for a rest or overnight, you should carefully scan the area.
If you find holes or depressions under stones where spiders can live, they should be covered with earth.
Clothes should have long sleeves, and the head should be covered with a scarf or other headdress.
If you have a night in a tent, before going to bed, you need to carefully inspect your sleeping area, as well as your backpack, clothes and shoes, where karakurt spiders can penetrate.
It is better to use a canopy, tucking it under the bed.
You can make small grooves around the tent.
You should always wear shoes that protect your feet from venomous bites.
If you suddenly find a karakurt spider on your clothes, you should not press it or pick it up. It is best to knock it down with a snap or simply shake it to the ground.

Conclusion

The bites of karakurt spiders are very Every living creature suffers greatly, and horses and camels almost always die. When these spiders begin their intensive reproduction, livestock farming suffers great losses due to mass mortality of livestock. That is why, to destroy karakurt spiders, the soil is sprayed with hexachlorane and other poisons.

Should take precautions, when you need to go out into nature in places where karakurt spiders are very common. In case of a bite, you should immediately provide first aid and urgently contact a medical facility.

Karakurt spiders have an ominous reputation in the human world. Firstly, they are called European black widows. And secondly, looking at photo of karakurt, some very impressionable people see some kind of secret sign in the fact that the body is decorated with thirteen red marks.

Portrait of a "black widow"

In fact, this arthropod does not look menacing at all. It’s worth mentioning right away that females and males are very different in appearance. The male is significantly smaller than the female.

With each next moult karakurt growing up. During a lifetime, a male molts 7 times, and a female molts 2 times more. Adult females grow up to 2 cm, in contrast to males, the largest of which are no more than 7 mm. There are also very small ones - 4 mm.

A newborn spider is transparent, but a few days after the first molt, the abdomen darkens. And on its upper part nine white dots appear, located 3 in a row. The lower part of the abdomen is decorated with a pattern in the shape of a red hourglass with a yellow rim.

With each subsequent molt, the pattern on the body changes. These changes are most clearly visible if we compare how Karakurt spider photo. There is a certain aesthetic to this drawing.

The frequency of molting depends on how well karakurt spider eats. Provided there is sufficient nutrition, they ripen very quickly. Adult males have bright colors that do not fade over time.

Karakurt of Western Kazakhstan

But in females, on the upper part of the abdomen there are barely visible white lines on a black, sometimes varnished, background. Only " hourglass"on the lower part of the abdomen.

And finally, after the seventh molt, the male karakurt stops eating, and, driven by the instinct of procreation, goes in search of a female. Having found the bride's web, he carefully touches the signal threads, announcing his arrival. This is necessary so that the female does not confuse him with prey and eat him ahead of time.

However, after mating, his fate is still sealed. That is why they are called black widows. Not all spiders are so merciless, but even those males who managed to survive soon completely lose interest in food and die of hunger.

Where can you meet karakurt?

Speaking about the area where he lives karakurt wikipedia notes that these are traditionally hot regions with arid climate, such as: the desert zone of Kazakhstan, Crimea or southern Russia.

However, recently in large quantities meet karakurt in the Rostov region and in the Moscow region. Such spiders look especially exotic in Altai and Novosibirsk region.

True, in these regions karakurts do not survive low winter temperatures. Educational work is being carried out in atypical areas where arthropods live. Experts use the media to inform the public what a spider looks like karakurt Video and leaflets are used as visual aids.

Female karakurt with cocoon

For living, these spiders choose abandoned burrows of small rodents, or dry ditches. They can also settle in a crevice in a clay wall. Climate change forces spiders to change their homes.

Sometimes, in connection with this, specialists register invasion of the Karakurts. Spiders do not live in dense grass due to high humidity, but the sun-scorched bare desert is also not for them. These arthropods feel most comfortable in sparse wormwood thickets.

The female's house is spacious and is formed from a dense web pattern. Males weave less intricate and less dense webs. Should you be afraid of meeting a karakurt?

Females are most poisonous in May–June. The spider attacks when it senses a potential threat. Only by invading its space does a person or animal run the risk of being bitten.

Male karakurt

Considering these spider features, it becomes clear to whom and why it owes its name stun gun karakurt. In fact, aggressive behavior karakurt can be regarded as self-defense.

But this doesn’t make it any easier, because most often a person completely unintentionally invades territory where he can be attacked poisonous karakurt . Animals often suffer from bites.

Only some of them, for example, dogs and hedgehogs, easily tolerate the effects of the toxin. The venom of an adult female can kill a camel or a horse, needless to say about the danger to humans.

Within a quarter of an hour after a painful bite, a person begins to experience the main symptoms of severe intoxication: dizziness, suffocation, chills, abdominal pain, vomiting. Timely administration of the antidote is a prerequisite for a favorable outcome.

Experts say that if you burn the bite site with an extinguished match within two minutes, you can neutralize the poison. The fact is that the poison is based on a protein that simply coagulates from exposure high temperature.

Female karakurt

To ensure that first aid tips for bites are not useful, during the period of migration of female spiders you need to take especially careful precautions. After all, the modest size of the spider fully confirms its dangerous reputation.

Karakurt – poisonous spider. But only the bite of a female is dangerous to human health. Its venom is neurotoxic and causes intense release of acetylcholine at various neuromuscular synapses, as well as at the synapses of the central nervous system. It will not lead to death if the victim knows what symptoms appear when bitten by a karakurt and seeks medical help in time.

The first symptoms of a karakurt bite

The bite of the karakurt is not painful. In most cases, it is perceived as a needle prick or is not even felt. The local reaction to the spider's venom is also absent or very weakly expressed - the skin in the area of the bite may be slightly pale. Most often, there are no local changes and it is difficult to find the bite site. Due to the mild pain of the bite, many victims (especially those who were bitten during sleep) do not associate their sudden poor health with the bite poisonous insect and go to a medical facility only after common manifestations intoxication.

The first general toxic signs of a karakurt bite appear quickly, after about 5 minutes, and progress very rapidly. These include:

burning pain at the site of the bite;
pain in;
pain radiating to the joints of the legs;
dizziness.

The severity of pain varies from relatively mild to extremely severe. It all depends on the toxicity of the poison. If the poisoning is severe, after a karakurt bite, symptoms such as:

excruciating muscle pain (can be combined with paresthesia in the lower back, abdomen or chest);
nervous excitement;
pronounced fear of death;
pale skin;
lacrimation.

Signs of a karakurt bite

If the patient is not given first aid, soon after the karakurt bite other symptoms begin to develop. The victim develops muscle weakness. It is especially pronounced in lower limbs, as a result of which a person has difficulty moving or cannot stand on his feet at all. Pulling and aching pain different localizations can be combined with pronounced muscle tension. Very often the abdominal muscles are very tense. Signs of a karakurt bite include dry tongue, severe leukocytosis, intestinal paresis and increased temperature. All of them imitate the picture of an acute abdomen, which is why there are cases of erroneous surgical intervention in cases of poisoning by the venom of this type of spider.

Many victims also experience nausea and vomiting, tension, and severe muscle dysfunction in the limbs or back. If treatment is not provided at this stage, the following may occur:

positive Kernig syndrome;
sphincter spasm;
tremor or convulsive twitching of the neck muscles;
dysfunction of the respiratory muscles;
increase in blood pressure.

Symptoms of extremely severe poisoning

In severe cases, other symptoms of a karakurt spider bite occur. The victim's excitement gives way to apathy and depression. He experiences confusion (in some cases with psychotic reactions) and progressive shortness of breath (wheezing, crepitus, frothy sputum).

Most people who are bitten develop a rose-colored rash on skin. The acute phase of intoxication is also characterized by the phenomenon of layering of pain of different localization and nature on top of each other. This condition becomes more complicated strong feeling fear, tension in various muscle groups and severe muscle weakness. Disorders of peristalsis or urination may also occur.

In mild forms of poisoning after a karakurt bite, the painful phenomena are completely relieved by the end of the first day. If the poison has severely affected the body, the victim may feel pain for 3-4 days.

In fact, it is not the spider that is called the “black widow”, but whole family arachnids, which our hero today belongs to - the karakurt spider. This genus received its name for two reasons:

black - according to the main background of the body color;
widow - for instantly eating her spouse by the female immediately after mating.

The red spots on its abdomen give black widows a special feature; look how gorgeous the karakurt spider looks in the photo.

Attention! In some mature females, the spots may disappear, and then the widow becomes especially black!

Biology of the species

Description

Let's start the description of the karakurt spider with its size. The species has clearly expressed sexual dimorphism, in which the female has a leg span of twenty millimeters, and the male is only 5-7!

Distribution area

Naturally, having heard about dangerous bites, every person is interested in where the karakurt lives. This representative of black widows prefers forest-steppe, steppe and semi-desert zones With warm climate. Therefore, its habitat is in the south of Europe, in Central Asia and in northern Africa.

Concerning post-Soviet space, then the black widow is found in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. In the Azov region of Mariupol, Donetsk region of Ukraine, karakurts were also noticed not so long ago.

In Russia, karakurts are also very widespread. This mainly concerns southern regions countries and those regions located in steppe zones. For example, karakurts are often found in the Rostov region, the Novosibirsk region and the Altai Territory.

In addition, scientists have recorded cases of catching karakurts even at the latitude of the Moscow region, which occurs during the migration of spiders in especially hot years. But such appearances are sporadic, since harsh winters middle zone The black widow cannot stand our country.

The black widow's natural habitats tend to be flat. It can be:

steppes;
arable land;
areas near ravines or artificial ditches;
salt marshes;
wasteland.

Nutrition

The black karakurt feeds on insects that fall into its nets. These are usually the types of arthropods that live directly next to the spiders themselves:

beetles;
grasshoppers;
locusts;
flies and horseflies.

It is interesting that the victims of karakurts are caught in horizontally stretched nets. At the same time, the web of karakurts is not distinguished by the grace of circular lines, but is made as if randomly, but at the same time it is very viscous and does not give the insect caught in it any chance of salvation.

The spider paralyzes the caught insect with poison and then sucks out its liquid tissue.

This is interesting! Did you know that spiders have blue blood? It turns out that it is not red hemoglobin that is responsible for the formation of their blood, but blue (copper) hemocyanin!

Reproduction and development

In the summer, spiders, having found a secluded place, begin to mating games. The male karakurt creates a patina by scenting it with his pheromones to attract a female. As noted above, after mating, the male is mercilessly eaten, and the female begins to look for a secluded place to lay a clutch, in which she places up to 130 eggs.

Unlike other types of arachnids, the female karakurt forms from two to four cocoons, into which she lays eggs. For oviposition, she uses rodent burrows or similar secluded places. Here she weaves a web, from which she hangs her cocoons. When the autumn cold sets in, the female dies, having only slightly outlived her eaten husband.

The eggs in the cocoon are reliably protected from the cold and easily endure the winter, and in the spring they begin to fight for existence. In autumn, the wind tears the cocoons from the web, and the clutch begins its journey across the steppe, thus expanding the habitat of the species.

Our help! Once every 10-15 years there is a surge in the reproduction of karakurts. In such years, females are able to lay up to 1300 eggs per season.

The spiderlings appear quickly, within 10-15 days depending on the weather, but they do not leave the cocoon and live in it until next spring. At first, they feed on the food supply that nature has placed inside their body, then they switch to cannibalism, as a result of which only the strongest individuals are selected from the cocoon.

During spring and summer they grow, living through several molts during this time: males - seven times, females - nine.

Our help! The body of spiders is protected by an exoskeleton, a kind of shell made of chitin, which prevents the spider from developing further. Therefore, as black widows grow, they shed it and replace it with a new one, larger in size.

Enemies of the Karakurts

It turns out that the formidable black widow karakurt is not omnipotent, and many animals not only are not afraid of it, but are also able to feed on them. Natural enemies Spiders are herd animals. A flock of sheep or a herd of horses can trample entire hectares of steppe along with the spiders living there.

Sphex wasps act against karakurts in their own favorite way: they inject poison under their skin, paralyzing and subsequently killing them.

The wasps lay their eggs in cocoons with spiderlings, and then their larvae easily deal with the unprotected spider nymphs.

Finally, the ubiquitous hedgehogs also love to feast on karakurts; they are not afraid of karakurt bites, being protected by armor made of needles.

Bites

Having given an idea of the black widow as an animal, we move on to the main part of our story - karakurt bites. It is immediately necessary to identify two main positions related to this:

A black widow's bite can be fatal.
Spiders are not the first to attack humans.

Symptoms

To begin with, let’s outline the symptoms of a karakurt bite, which appear very quickly.

Within 10-15 minutes all the muscles of the body begin to ache, as happens with the flu or other colds. The muscles that hurt the most are the chest, abdominals, and lumbar region.
In addition, the heart rate increases, shortness of breath appears, dizziness, tremors of the limbs and even priapism in men.
After this, general weakness of the body sets in, it seems that the limbs do not obey the person, and vomiting appears.
Next, nervous exhaustion occurs in the human body and depression may occur.
A person’s consciousness becomes cloudy, and he ceases to be aware of reality and recognize even people close to him.

If the antidote is not administered in time, physical death may occur.

However, it is not at all necessary that all karakurt bites are fatal to humans. Firstly, people with increased immunity will tolerate a bite much easier than those weakened by diseases, or those who have increased allergic reaction for poisons. Secondly, the highest concentration of poison is observed in black widows in mating season and after laying eggs, in other seasons the bites are less terrible.

Reference! Karakurt males are not able to bite through human skin, therefore they are not dangerous for people and most animals.

What to do after a bite

The most in an effective way After a bite, the wound is immediately cauterized. This allows you to destroy the poison, preventing it from spreading through the blood throughout the body. The fact is that the female bites through the skin only half a millimeter, and for some time the poison concentrates almost on the surface.

You can cauterize a bite wound directly with the head of a match, or by heating any metal object at hand over a fire:

blade of knife;
cutlery;
house or car key;
metal comb.

Attention! Cauterization should be done within the first 10 (!) minutes after the bite. After this time, the poison will circulate throughout the body.

Everyone knows what to do next - immediately contact the nearest medical facility, which will provide the required assistance. In regions where the black widow is common, there is almost always the necessary serum, which is designed to neutralize the poison.

In extreme cases, when the necessary remedy is not available, it turns out that an intravenous injection of ordinary potassium permanganate at a concentration of 2-4 percent or magnesium sulfate at a concentration of 10-15 percent can alleviate the patient’s plight.

After medical procedures, the patient should be given plenty of fluids to remove poison from the body and a hot bath to reduce pain. It is also a good idea to take painkillers and sleeping pills, because healthy sleep bring great benefit to the body weakened by the bite.

Karakurt animal bites

Different animals react differently to black widow bites. Horses and camels suffer the most from it, including death, which in some regions is a real scourge for Agriculture. Also, many rodents die from karakurt poison.

At the same time, dogs, hedgehogs, amphibians and reptiles are practically insensitive to karakurt poison.

Now it's time to watch a video about the black widow. Watch the report from America, filmed by our former compatriot.

General. Karakurts live in Central Asia, Afghanistan, Iran and throughout the CIS, in particular there are many of them in Crimea. There is a similar species in Europe called the Black Widow. Distinctive feature karakurt - red spots on a black back, females have no spots. The spider lives in ravines, river banks, abandoned mouse holes, garbage dumps. Karakurt is never the first to attack a person; it bites only in defense. The spider is especially dangerous from May to July, during the migration of females. Karakurt males do not pose a danger, because cannot bite through human skin.

Step 2

Bite site.

I. Karakurt poison is a mixture of protein neurotoxins that affects nervous system. The venom itself is 15 times stronger than that of a rattlesnake. During a karakurt bite, you may not feel anything, but after a few minutes a burning pain appears, spreading throughout the body. Rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, dizziness, vomiting, and a feeling of heaviness in the chest appear. Next, the legs go numb, the abdominal muscles tense, and psychomotor agitation appears, causing anxiety and fear of dying. Then the excitement disappears and the person becomes lethargic. If you don’t help the person who was bitten medical care, death is possible within 1 – 2 days. Death occurs from respiratory arrest. Weakness remains in the bitten person for a month.

Step 3

Cauterization.

Treatment. When bitten by a karakurt, a person needs to be injected with anti-karakurt serum. It is injected subcutaneously into the interscapular area; in critical cases, it is administered intravenously using a dropper. Bad news the fact is that such serum is not available in all hospitals; in my city, for example, it is not available anywhere at all. Before arriving at the hospital, you can inject 10 cubes of calcium gluconate (10% calcium chloride) intravenously. If you notice a spider bite right away, then you need to cauterize the wound with 2-3 heads of matches; the venom of spiders, unlike the venom of snakes, is destroyed when heated. Place two matches close to the wound and set them on fire with a third match; this must be done no later than 2 minutes after the bite. This is of course painful, but it is effective - the poison is destroyed and does not have time to be absorbed into the blood. In any case, going to the hospital is inevitable. By the way, applying tourniquets and making incisions above the wound will not help in any way with a karakurt bite.

Step 4

An anti-mosquito canopy will save the tent from karakurts.

Prevention. Karakurt presents mortal danger also for livestock, so their habitats and breeding areas must be sprayed with hexachlorane. If you have to spend the night in an open area, use a well-stretched canopy tucked under the bed. In karakurt habitats, wear thick clothes with long sleeves, and trousers should be tucked into your shoes. Do not walk barefoot in vegetable gardens, gardens and dachas, do not throw clothes and shoes on the ground - spiders can get into it. Wear thick gloves when clearing grass and removing debris.

Step 5

Fearless Galley

Interesting. One of the enemies of the karakurt is the Kambaz-pompil road wasp. When the galleys appear, the villagers are very happy about their saviors. The wasp works cunningly - it flies up to the karakurt's hole and begins to fiddle with the web with its paw. A hungry spider, anticipating lunch, happily crawls out. Then the cabbage takes off, rests its feet on the web and with its stinger strikes the spider directly in the mouth, causing paralysis of the karakurt. After this, the wasp digs a hole and buries the still living spider, in whose body the galley larva will develop.