Bites and Infestations

Spiders, timid creatures for all their fierce looks, would rather entertain insects in their parlors than attack humans. The tarantula is more dangerous in fable than in fact. Two spiders can deliver painful bites and serious venenation if frightened or cornered: the black widow spider (Latrodectus mactans) and the brown recluse spider (Loxosceles reclusa). The bite of the latter is illustrated here. It is a hemorrhagic bleb; in time it will become a necrotic ulcer. The patient will be severely sickened.