"Last night (June 29), I was going to Jiguan Mountain to catch moths, but I didn't want to experience a night of horror. The mountains of Chengdu are hiding such poison. I'm not talking about the soldering iron head, but this guy with the red spots on a black background. On June 30, Zhao Li, director of the Huaxi Insect Museum, recalled his horror night through his circle of friends.
On June 30, Red Star News contacted Zhao Li, who revealed that at about 10 p.m. the night before, when he was inspecting Jiguan Mountain in Chongzhou, Sichuan Province, he found a female strange fat-bellied spider, a hugely poisonous spider, distributed in Guangxi, Yunnan and other places in China, this time it was the first discovery in Sichuan.
And the Black Widow Spider is related
The Discovery in Sichuan set a new record for the northernmost distribution of this species
At about 10 p.m. on June 29, Zhao Li, director of the Huaxi Insect Museum, was inspecting Jiguan Mountain in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, when he found a female strange fat-bellied spider.
Zhao Li introduced that the strange fat-bellied spider (Steatoda terastiosa) is a hugely poisonous spider. On the photos provided by Zhao Li and on the photos provided by Zhao Li, the reporter saw that the strange fat-bellied spider was black throughout and had obvious dark red patches. The body of the spider is 7 mm-8 mm in diameter, and the length of the spider's feet is between 2 cm and 3 cm.
Strange fat-bellied spider
"The spider was crawling on the side of the road, and when I found it, I buckled it in a plastic bag and kept it in a plastic bag. To prevent it from escaping, two layers of boxes were also placed on top of the plastic bag. Zhao Li revealed that "this spider is very rare and difficult to meet, and is related to the black widow spider." Zhao Li said that according to the Chinese Zoological Records, the strange fat-bellied spider belongs to the arachnid order Spider Bulbophyllaceae." Although it is not a genus of spiders where the black widow spider is located, but a genus of fat-bellied spiders, it also belongs to the subfamily of spiders. ”
On the evening of June 29, Zhao Li took the strange fat-bellied spider home and put it on the balcony, "At present, it is in a plastic bag, and I dare not touch it." The next step is to consider whether to raise it or make a specimen. In the end, it must have been preserved as a specimen. I want to raise it, and now I think about whether I can raise it for a while, but I am afraid that if I run out and bite people. Zhao Li said that this afternoon will bring the strange fat belly spider back to the Huaxi Insect Museum, if it is raised, the strange fat belly spider will be raised in the basement of the museum, and the breeding method of the black widow spider will be compared.
Zhao Li revealed, "Combined with some of my previous findings, the strange fat-bellied spider found in the Sichuan region this time may be related to climate warming. Because many species native to the tropics have been found in the Chengdu area in recent years, such as the golden-spotted butterfly, the green-spotted butterfly, and the five-pointed rhinoceros golden turtle. This discovery will increase the record of the distribution of the strange fat-bellied spider, which is also the northernmost distribution record of the species. ”
note! Toxicity is huge Do not touch
There is currently no record of actively attacking people
It should be reminded that the strange fat-bellied spider is highly poisonous, "from its classification, it should be very poisonous." It is thought to be slightly less toxic than the Black Widow spider. The Black Widow spider is very venomous, it is recorded to be 15 times more poisonous than the rattlesnake, and 0.006 mg can kill a rat. Zhao Li revealed.
Although so toxic, there is no record of it actively attacking people. "Records of it are almost blank except for its name and distribution." Zhao Li warned nearby villagers not to arrest them for safety reasons.
If unfortunately bitten by the strange fat-bellied spider, Zhao Li said that at present, the black widow spider has a special antidote, because the classification status of the strange fat-bellied spider is closest to the black widow spider, it is estimated that their toxicity is similar, so the antidote of the black widow spider can also be used.
On how to distinguish whether spiders are poisonous, Zhao Li said, "Spiders are almost all poisonous, generally speaking, brightly colored and poisonous, because this is definitely a warning color, black and red collocation is a very typical warning color in the animal kingdom, which means highly poisonous." ”
Red Star News reporter Hu Ting Yan Xue intern Wang Kangli
Image courtesy of Zhao Li