Spiders in Crimea: what are they like and what to do when bitten?

There are a huge number of people in the world who suffer from arachnophobia (fear of spiders), and their fears cannot be called groundless. Among these insects there are those that threaten the lives of children and adults. Spiders of the Crimean Peninsula are no exception - poisonous octopuses are found in the local fauna.

Spiders are one of the most numerous orders, and not only among arachnids, but also representatives of the animal world. In total, there are over 40,000 varieties of them on earth. Compared to this figure the number of spiders in Crimea looks much more modest - only about 5,000. Most of them are quite harmless, but there are a few specimens, meeting with which can significantly spoil the rest.

Among the many of these spiders, females are the most dangerous to humans, since they are much larger than males and can easily bite through human skin. You can distinguish these arthropods by the whitish cross-shaped pattern on the abdomen. Spiders of this species are quite large - a female hanging with protruding paws can reach 4-5 cm in diameter. They feed mainly on insects, for humans their bites are not particularly dangerous, although they can be very painful, often causing mild local inflammation and tissue necrosis near the site bite.

Acquaintance with this spider is much more dangerous and fraught with the most unfavorable consequences for humans.These creatures appeared in Crimea relatively recently, but have already brought many unpleasant moments to vacationers. Basically, tarantulas live in dry areas, they dig holes in the ground or simply occupy mice, killing their "legitimate" owners. This spider does not weave webs - it waits in the hole for the prey to appear, then with a sharp movement pounces on it and paralyzes with its bite. Locals call these spiders "wolf cubs".

Tarantulas are gray spiders, they are shaggy, have rather powerful legs. These representatives of the flora are considered the largest spiders of the Crimea - the length of their body reaches 3 cm, and with extended legs, their dimensions almost double.

The greatest danger is posed by females guarding their cocoons. Tarantulas often climb into tents to tourists, however, a person is not of particular interest to them. Moreover, hearing the sound and vibration of human steps, these spiders try to hide, attack solely in self-defense - only for an attack, they can take any sharp movement of a person.

In the Middle Ages, it was believed that it was possible to save oneself after being bitten by a tarantula only if one danced a unique dance for a long time. This is how the world famous tarantella came about. It is difficult to die from the bite of this creature, however, cases of an individual strong reaction are not excluded.

A distinctive feature of karakurt is a black abdomen with bright red spots, a total of about 13, rarely they can be framed with a scarlet edging. The rest of the parts are pure black, like glossy.

According to the description, these creatures have an unusual feature - during mating, the female shows exceptional bloodthirstiness: at the end of "communication" she simply eats the male, for which she received the nickname "black widow".

Black widows are not aggressive towards humans, but if they believe that a person is threatening their offspring, they attack, therefore, most often they bite children and adults by accident. Keep in mind that the poison spills out into the bite site only when you press on the abdomen, so you should not slap a spider crawling over the body, and gently sweep away.

Black widows are the most dangerous species of spiders living in the Crimea. Their venom is 15 times stronger than that of rattlesnakes, but the dose is lower, therefore, mortality from their bites is low. However, after the bite, painful symptoms occur:

• pain and aches throughout the body;
• convulsions;
• increased heart rate;
• urinary problems;
• dizziness, fainting;
• blueness of the face;
• panic attacks;
• cramps in the stomach and intestines.

In principle, non-venomous spiders do not exist in nature, therefore and it is impossible to meet them in Crimea.

There are only varieties that, even with rather large sizes, do not pose a serious danger to humans, since they are too weak and cannot bite through the skin, or the poison itself is not sufficiently concentrated.

This is a relative of the tarantula, which is similar in everything to it, but differs in the zone of residence - these creatures prefer dark and damp areas, where no one simply expects to meet a spider. You can encounter him in ravines, as well as cellars, garages and vegetable stores.

The bite does not pose any danger to a person, but, nevertheless, there may be slight discomfort at the site of the bite, slight swelling, sometimes slight excitability and spasms.

These are burrowing spiders that rarely crawl out of their hiding places. And if the contact did occur, then you should not be afraid - bites can only cause short-term pain and local inflammation.

These spiders are also called the eight-legged wasp, they are distinguished by a yellow-black color with pronounced, like a hornet, stripes. His lifestyle is similar to a cross, but he hangs his nets mainly in the grass.

Argiopa is unlikely to threaten a person's life, although it bites, as a rule, unexpectedly and rather painfully.

Quite an interesting species of spiders, listed in the Red Book. Most often they are found in the dry foothill areas of the peninsula. The length of the body reaches 6-7 cm, the legs and body are completely covered with hairs, the front limbs in appearance resemble the tentacles of a mollusk. They mainly feed on small insects, lizards and scorpions. Small spiders are not able to bite through human skin, therefore, they are not particularly dangerous, but adults have rather sharp teeth, so their bites are very painful.

This is another arachnid inhabitant of the Crimean peninsula, similar to an ordinary karakurt, with the only exception that it does not have red spots on its abdomen - instead of them, you can see a scarlet strip, which somewhat resembles two arrows connected to each other. In terms of the intensity of the impact on a person, the poison of a false karakurt resembles a wasp.

Spiders are most active from May to September, but peak in the second half of summer (July and August). Females protecting their offspring are especially dangerous for humans.

As for the time of day, then spiders are most dangerous at night and early in the morning, most often they are found in hot dry weather, and during rains they usually hide and do not react to prey caught in their nets. The only exceptions are tarantulas, which, as a rule, choose the daytime for hunting.

Great care should be taken when resting in nature. Here are some recommendations, following which will help to protect yourself while traveling in Crimea:

• When walking in a forest, field or steppe zone, give preference to high, closed shoes.
• When collecting firewood and brushwood, do not suddenly pick up dry branches from the ground, first turn them over with your foot to make sure that there are no arachnids under the branches.
• You should not leave your shoes outside overnight - it is better to take them to the tent.
• Be sure to close the tent, do not keep it open, from time to time treat with repellent preparations.
• Be sure to shake out your sleeping bag before going to bed, as there is a high chance that a spider may be hiding in them.
• On any trip, be sure to bring a first-aid kit with you and include an antiseptic, anti-inflammatory ointment, antihistamine, and rubbing alcohol.

Encephalitis mites live in large numbers in the mountainous and foothill regions of the peninsula, where many of the most interesting tourist routes pass. They can be found in Demerdzhi, Bakhchisarai, Simferopol and Yalta. As a rule, they hide in the grass and undersized bushes.

Of course, it is difficult to imagine that you will see the sights of the Crimea in closed clothes or anti-encephalitis overalls, however, certain precautions can be taken:

• Before the trip, it is better to get vaccinated against encephalitis - the vaccination is done 5-7 months before the expected date of the trip.
• Be sure to bring along repellents - aerosols, sprays and ointments containing acaricidal components that kill ticks.
• Be sure to treat the entrance to the tent and its walls with compounds.
• From time to time, make it a rule to check yourself and your comrades.
• If the tick could still get under the skin, then it should be as careful as possible to tie a thread around its body and carefully twist it, moving counterclockwise.

When bitten by a poisonous spider, a special serum is most effective. Unfortunately, it cannot be found in every first-aid post, so in a hospital, calcium gluconate is administered intravenously, after which a decision is made on further treatment.

During rest, it is not always possible to get to the hospital immediately, therefore, the victim should be given first aid on the spot. It usually comes down to taking an antihistamine and treating the bite site with anti-inflammatory drugs. The moxibustion method is very effective - this is done in any available way, but certainly within the first two minutes. The fact is that the jaws of spiders are rather weak, and they cannot, during a bite, inject poison deep under the skin, which means that for the first couple of minutes it is located quite close to the surface, so the effect of high temperature partially destroys the poisonous component.

After that, you need to provide the victim with plenty of drink and take him to the hospital as soon as possible. Please be aware that according to statistics, without timely medical care, about 4-5% of those bitten die.

For the poisonous spiders of the Crimea, see the video below.