Pest Of The Week: The Brown Recluse Spider

English: Adult male brown recluse spider dorsal view. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Brown Recluse spider is also known as a Violin spider because of the violin markings found on it’s back. Because of its extremely venomous and deadly bite, the Brown Recluse is one of worst spider pests. These bites are extremely dangerous. There have been reports of lost appendages and even death because of these painful bites. Spider control efforts must be taken to keep these spiders out of your basements, attics, and garages.

While the Brown recluse is dangerous, it’s a rather shy spider that will only bite when it feels threatened. Bites occur when a hand is placed unknowingly on a spider while moving boxes for instance; or when a spider is inadvertently trapped against a person’s body while getting dressed or crawling in bed.

The Brown Recluse spider is tan in color. Adult spiders are about the size of a U.S. Quarter. The spider has a violin marking on its back, long legs, and is covered with short hairs. They are common in the lower Midwest and the Southeast U.S. They are nighttime hunters that do not use webs to catch insects.

5 Pest Control Links For Your Friday

Cluster Flies are a Real Pest to Deal With

Have you ever been enjoying the outdoors, when suddenly you’ve been swarmed by a hoard of tiny flies? More often than not, those are cluster flies and they can be more than a simple annoyance for some homeowners. More…

Buying Property? Approach With Eyes Wide Open

If you are in the market to buy a home, make sure pests haven’t moved in first. Here’s what you need to know. More…

Introducing the Rugose Spiraling Whitefly

Spiraling whiteflies are a landscaping nightmare. The pesky flies chew their way though trees and plants, leaving them yellow and wilted. For a free download about this relatively new pest, click here.

Bulwark Exterminating & Earth Day

Monday was Earth Day! Bulwark Exterminating has made efforts go green by going paperless. More…

Take Back Your Yard With Mosquito Control

With the warmer summer months almost upon us, mosquitoes will be out in full force. While they can be annoying, they can also be dangerous. Take back your backyard with these mosquito tips. More…

Related articles

• Pest Control Tips You Can Easily Try At Home
• What Really Happens When You Get Bit by a Brown Recluse Spider
• The Truth Behind The Spider Oreo
• Top 10 Ways To Kill A Spider
• Spider In My Ear

Anthony Ball

Spiders like the Black Widow spider and Brown Recluse spider have given all other spiders a bad reputation. These dangerous spiders strike fear in people, and justifiably so. All spiders are venomous to some degree, but that doesn’t mean they are dangerous. While all spiders are an eyesore, most spiders are harmless.

The problem with spiders is most of us don’t know which spiders are dangerous, and which ones are harmless… When we see a spider, we just run. How do we know which spiders bite? How do we know which spiders are dangerous?

The spider control professionals at Bulwark Pest Control have put together an informative infographic which helps us all identify the common spiders found in the United States, and whether or not they are dangerous.

Source:

http://www.bulwarkpestcontrol.com/community/guide-to-dangerous-spider-identification-in-the-us.htm

Related articles

• Black Widow and Brown Recluse Spider Bites
• Close Encounters With The 8-Legged Kind
• Bat Eating Spiders Everywhere Except for Antartica [VIDEO]

Anthony Ball

Spiderman And His Amazing Spider Silk 

Every boy growing up watched in amazement as Spiderman was able to shoot webs from his wrists; pulling endangered motorist’s cars off of bridges before they fell hundreds of feet into icy water. 

Crooks and bad guys, even those with superhuman strength, were tied up by Spiderman’s webs. Wonderment filled our heads, as we watched all the many possibilities of spider silk. 

I remember wishing I could shoot those powerful spider webs at a schoolyard bully or be able to effortlessly swing from my house to a tree branch. 

A Century’s Old Question 

Apparently I am not the only one who has wanted to unleash the secrets of spider silk. 

For decades, scientists have been studying spider silk hoping to unlock its mysteries and apply this knowledge to real world application. 

Scientists are now closer than ever to answering the question, 

“How does a spider spin a web of silk that is five times stronger, on a weight-to-strength basis, than steel; and how can we manufacture it?”

The Strength of Spider Silk (Photo credit: BlueRidgeKitties)

The Strength Of Spider Silk 

Spider silk is five times stronger, on a weight-to-strength basis, than steel with about 1/6th the density. 

Here’s a real world example displaying the strength of silk:

An 1881 Tombstone, Arizona gun fight gave us all an idea of just how strong real silk is. George Emery Goodfellow, a doctor of the times in Tombstone, AZ was examining the deceased after a gunfight. One of the men involved had taken a couple bullets to the chest, but the Dr. Goodfellow couldn’t find a single drop of blood on the man. As he removed his clothing he found a silk handkerchief holding two smashed bullets. Although the man has still died because of the force of the bullets, the silk handkerchief stopped the bullets from piercing the man’s chest.

Solving The Mysteries of Spider Silk

Over the last ten years scientists have unlocked a few portions of the spider silk puzzle, and hope to replicate it. We now know the key proteins used by spiders to spin their silk. Unfortunately, scientists have been unable to translate this knowledge into a technique that would enable the industrial-scale manufacturing of synthetic spider silk that is as powerful as the real stuff. 

The problem has always been fairly fundamental. While scientists understood the substances or proteins used by these ingenious spiders, they couldn’t figure out the mechanics of how spiders combine those proteins to make spider silk. When they tried it in their labs, they got inferior products… Until now! 

It turns out that a key part of the answer to this complex question is really pretty simple. It’s all in the timing… The timing of tiny globular structures. 

Tiny Globular Structures

Scientist recently stumbled upon some unusual spider silk features, and a big part of the secret. These features happened to be tiny globular structures called “micelles” which when combined together formed larger and larger gel-like structures. These micelles happened to be the precursors to silk fibers. 

Scientists now believe that they can take these micelles, and add some non-silk polymers to it to enlarge them and manufacture spider silk… But there is still one challenge. 

The Next Challenge

Spiders control the water content of the gel to prevent the proteins from crystallizing until they are ready to spin the silk fibers. If the proteins crystallized too soon, the process would fail. Scientists are still trying to unlock this last part of the spider silk puzzle and replicate the process that nature has provided. 

Look at That Spider-Man Go! (Photo credit: The Rocketeer)

Real World Applications of Manufactured Spider Silk: Inspired By Spiderman 

• Quick urban travel by rapidly firing thin strands of spider silk from building to building
• Biomedical devices like artificial tendons and ligaments
• Artificial skin for burn victims
• Binding captured criminals with a webbing
• Bomb stopping bulletproof vests
• Biodegradable bottles and packaging
• Blindfold an opponent with a thick blob of spider silk
• A super strong spider silk polymer for high performance aircraft or motor vehicles
• Super strong ropes, nets, seat belts, and parachutes
• A massive web cast across a street or alley to snare rapidly-moving persons or vehicles

Going Forward

Spiders are amazing creatures, and so is the silk they spin. Let’s hope scientists can figure out the last few pieces of the spider silk puzzle, so we can all live out our childhood fantasies of becoming Spiderman! 

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=97539&page=1#.ULkLyOQ0V8E

Related articles

• Review: The Amazing Spiderman #700
• Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman
• The Amazing SpiderMan (2012)
• Film Review: The Amazing Spiderman (2012)
• Spider-man: Legacy
• I am Spiderman – The End

Anthony Ball

Newly Discovered Spider Named After Obama

Obama Spider (Photo by Jason Bond)

President Barack Obama has earned an itsy-bitsy honor.

Another cool quirk that comes with being the President of the United States… You get a spider named after you. After discovering 33 new species of spiders in the Southwestern United States, researches have named one after President Barack Obama.

This news coming just days after our 44th U.S. President was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.

The newly discovered species, which bears the commander in chief’s name, is called Aptostichus barackobamai. Good luck pronouncing that one, so we will just stick to calling the newly discovered spider the Barack Obama trapdoor spider. This spider is a type of trapdoor spider that is known for burrowing underground and protecting its layer via a trapdoor made of silk.

The 33 new species of spiders were discovered by Auburn University Museum of Natural History and department of Biological Sciences.

Why A Spider?

The Amazing Spider Man and Obama (Photo credit: iamdavidmoore)

There are few details as to why this spider is named after president Obama. Many believe it is because the President is a huge fan of Spiderman in which he once graced the cover.

Not The First Species Named After President Obama

This isn’t the first time a newly discovered species has been named after the President. In 2012, a spangled darter fish was given the official name Etheostoma obama, because of the President’s efforts in the areas of clean energy and environmental protection. Then there’s the recently named and identified “Obamadon,” which is a lizard from the Late Cretaceous era.

President Obama also has dozens of city streets and schools named after him as well. For the complete list, click here.

The Barack Obama Trapdoor Spider: Aptostichus barackobamai

Researchers describe the Barack Obama Trapdoor Spider as one of the most beautiful trapdoor spiders in which they have ever worked with. The spider has gorgeous tiger-striping on its abdomen and measures about 15 millimeters long. It also lacks the spines on its outermost leg segments found on most other trapdoor spiders.

Trapdoor Spiders

Trapdoor spiders are seldom seen because they spend most their lives in underground burrows. As their name suggests, they build protective trapdoors made from soil, sand and silk, in which they hide behind. They will wait at their burrow entrances at night, until some unperceptive insect comes moseying by. The spider then jumps out, biting the unfortunate insect, and then drags it back into the bottom of its burrow.

Other Celebrities With Spider Names

You have officially reached celebrity status when you get a cool spider named after you! Along with President Obama, other famous people have officially reached celebrity status by being having spiders named after them. A few include: Stephen Colbert, Angelina Jolie, and U2’s front man Bono.

For a full list, click here.

Spider Control

As a bug guy I think it’s pretty cool to have a spider named after you; but having spiders inside your home is completely un-cool, especially is they are the dangerous Black Widow or Brown Recluse spiders. If you are seeing spiders, get spider control from Bulwark Exterminating!

Related articles

• President Obama, Meet Spider-Man
• Dave Mustaine Has A Tarantula Named After Him
• Even the president of the U.S. makes time for play

Anthony Ball