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Post by rugbytoffee on Jan 27, 2017 11:51:57 GMT
An Australian zoo has asked "responsible adults" to collect funnel-web spiders so it can milk them in its antivenom programme. The Australian Reptile Park relies on the public handing the spiders in to keep the programme running. The funnel-web spider is found in areas including rotting wood, logs, rockeries and even bundles of clothes, bedclothes and towels. It is highly venemous and potentially fatal if bites are untreated. The funnel-web spider species are found throughout Australia, and while the Sydney funnel-web is the best known of these, several species are also found in Queensland. The reptile park, north of Sydney, is the only supplier of venom to the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, which provides medical professionals with the antivenom to cure snake and funnel-web spider bites. To keep up the supply of venoms the staff regularly 'milk' more than 300 snakes and 500 spiders that are included in the programme.
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fitzyefc
Monster Midfielder
Posts: 1,295
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Post by fitzyefc on Jan 27, 2017 13:48:44 GMT
An Australian zoo has asked "responsible adults" to collect funnel-web spiders so it can milk them in its antivenom programme. The Australian Reptile Park relies on the public handing the spiders in to keep the programme running. The funnel-web spider is found in areas including rotting wood, logs, rockeries and even bundles of clothes, bedclothes and towels. It is highly venemous and potentially fatal if bites are untreated. The funnel-web spider species are found throughout Australia, and while the Sydney funnel-web is the best known of these, several species are also found in Queensland. The reptile park, north of Sydney, is the only supplier of venom to the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, which provides medical professionals with the antivenom to cure snake and funnel-web spider bites. To keep up the supply of venoms the staff regularly 'milk' more than 300 snakes and 500 spiders that are included in the programme. It's a bit irresponsible of the zoo to ask untrained people to dice with death like that.
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Post by rugbytoffee on Feb 24, 2017 10:49:59 GMT
10-year-old boy in Australia was bitten by the world’s deadliest spider - a funnel-web – but made an “incredible” recovery after being given the largest dose of antivenom in the nation’s history. Matthew Mitchell started sweating and began to froth at the mouth after he bitten on his hand by the male spider while putting away his shoe. He was rushed to hospital and recovered after receiving twelve vials of antivenom, believed to be more than any other bite victim in history. It [the spider] sort of clawed onto me and all the legs and everything crawled around my finger and I couldn’t get it off Matthew Mitchell “I’ve never heard of it, it’s incredible,” said Tim Faulkner, a wildlife expert. “And to walk out of hospital a day later with no effects is a testament to the antivenom.” The bite occurred while Mitchell was cleaning a shed with his father at their house north of Sydney. Describing the bite, Mitchell told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph: “It [the spider] sort of clawed onto me and all the legs and everything crawled around my finger and I couldn’t get it off Darren Mitchell, the boy’s father, said: ‘He went from pain in his finger until getting the tingling up his arm ... but he stayed conscious the whole time.” Matthew Mitchell recovering in hospital after he was given 12 vials of antivenom The spider was taken to a wildlife park which will milk its venom for use in future rescues. The funnel-web is often considered the most deadly in the world because of its fast-acting venom, which can kill within as little as 15 minutes. According to the Australian Museum, no confirmed deaths have occurred from a funnel-web bite since an antivenom was introduced in 1981. Last year, a 22-year-old died in Australia from a suspected bite by a redback spider. It was believed to be the nation’s first death from a spider since a fatal funnel-web attack in 1979
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Post by jimmy on Feb 24, 2017 23:59:46 GMT
Look at the fangs on that *****. You'd be wise to leave well alone.
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Post by rugbytoffee on Mar 15, 2017 16:03:03 GMT
Spiders eat 400-800 million tons of prey every year.
t has long been suspected that spiders are one of the most important groups of predators of insects. Zoologists at the University of Basel and Lund University in Sweden have now shown just how true this is - spiders kill astronomical numbers of insects on a global scale. The scientific journal The Science of Nature has published the results.
With more than 45,000 species and a population density of up to 1,000 individuals per square meter, spiders are one of the world's most species-rich and widespread groups of predators. Due to their secretive lifestyle - many spiders are nocturnal or live well camouflaged in vegetation - it was previously difficult to demonstrate their ecological role, but zoologists at the University of Basel and Lund University (Sweden) have now used calculations to conclude that spiders indeed have an enormous ecological impact as natural enemies of insects.
Spiders kill vast numbers of insects
The researchers used two calculation methods based on different models, which consistently showed that the global spider population (with a weight of around 25 million tons) wipes out an estimated 400-800 million tons of prey every year. More than 90% of that prey is insects and springtails (Collembola). Furthermore, large tropical spiders occasionally prey on small vertebrates (frogs, lizards, snakes, fish, birds, and bats) or feed on plants. The large range of the global prey kill estimate is due to the fact that rates of prey kill can vary widely within specific ecosystems, and these variations must be taken into account for ecological projections.
Compare this to the fact that, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the worldwide human population consumes around 400 million tons of meat and fish every year. The spider's eating habits can even be compared to those of the whales (Cetacea) in the world's oceans, which eat an estimated 280-500 million tons of prey a year.
The particular importance of spiders in forests and grasslands
The zoologists also showed that spiders kill many times more insects in forests and grasslands than in other habitats. Spiders in these areas catch huge numbers of forest and grassland pests, whereas spiders in desert regions, in the Arctic tundra and in annual crops kill fewer insects in comparison. The spiders' impact is lower in agricultural areas because these are intensively managed areas that offer unfavorable living conditions for spiders.
"Our calculations let us quantify for the first time on a global scale that spiders are major natural enemies of insects. In concert with other insectivorous animals such as ants and birds, they help to reduce the population densities of insects significantly," says Martin Nyffeler from the University of Basel, lead author of the study. "Spiders thus make an essential contribution to maintaining the ecological balance of nature," he adds.
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