Number 8 Bolivian Boys In May of 2020, three brothers from Bolivia
were hospitalized after each of them was bitten by a black widow spider. The circumstances
surrounding the attack were rather unusual. The boys, aged 8, 10 and 12, had stumbled
upon the spider while herding goats in the country’s Chayanta Province. They provoked
it with a stick and took turns, allowing the dangerous arachnid to sink its venomous mandibles
in their skin. The children hoped that by doing so, they’d be granted powers similar
to those of Spiderman, their favorite superhero. It’s worth mentioning that black widow venom
is incredibly potent, an estimated fifteen times stronger than that of a rattlesnake.
The children fell violently ill and their mother found them crying. Telemundo reported
on the story, mentioning that they were treated in a local medical center. They were suffering
from fever, muscle pain and general tremors. Their condition improved after antivenom was
administered and, a week later, the boys were discharged.
What Is It? Black widows are highly-venomous spiders belonging
to the Latrodectus genus. Mature females are usually dark brown or shiny black and most
species will exhibit bright red or orange markings, usually in the shape of an hourglass,
on the underside of their abdomens. Aside from their venomous bite, black widow spiders
are also infamous for the prevalence of cannibalism during reproduction. Females, which are much
larger, will sometimes consume their partners after mating, a behavior from which the spider
draws its common name. Sexual cannibalism is, however, more common in laboratory settings.
In nature, males will choose a mate that has fed, which they can determine by detecting
chemicals in the web. They’ll also send out specific vibrations on the female’s
web, to indicate that they’re mates and not potential prey. Another remarkable aspect
about black widows is the ultimate tensile strength of its web, which is correspondingly
stronger than steel. While not typically aggressive towards humans, a black widow will strike
without hesitation if disturbed. Number 7 Nicholas Cook
30-year-old Nicholas Cook, from Colorado, almost went blind in the aftermath of a black
widow attack. He was bitten by the arachnid in his sleep and woke up feeling, what he
described as, a “searing burning sensation”. Cook then discovered two gaping wounds in
his cheek. Fearing the cost of treatment, he decided to put off going to a doctor. Then,
two days later, he found another wound on his abdomen. Cook decided to get examined
after half his face became horribly swollen and puss started oozing from the wound on
his torso. The doctors determined a black widow had been responsible but had no antivenom
or specific treatment. Cook was monitored and given painkillers. He worked a minimum
wage job and, after he recovered, set up a GoFundMe page to manage his medical bills.
Number 6 Kailyn Donovan After she was bitten by a black widow spider,
5-year-old Kailyn Donovan developed a horrific wound. The child was attacked at her family’s
home, in Medon, Massachusetts. Her mother initially thought that Kailyn merely had a
bruise on the back of her knee. However, as the venom infected the little girl’s tissue,
the bite site developed into a large black-and-purple wound. The child was treated at UMass Memorial
Medical Center by a pediatric infectious-disease doctor. She was put on a course of antibiotics
and expected to heal without scarring. In the incident’s wake, the Donovan family
decided to have their backyard fumigated. Where Is It Located?
There are roughly 32 black widow species, distributed in temperate regions all-over
the world, on every continent with the exception of Antarctica. In parts of southeastern Asia,
and throughout Australia, the most common species is the redback spider. The European
black widow covers an extensive area in the Mediterranean, from southern Iberia to southwest
and central Asia. Species in southern Africa are known as button spiders while those in
North America are usually classified in accordance to the regions they inhabit. Black widows
have a preference for nesting in dark and dry places. These include rodent holes, hollow
stumps or wood piles as well as barns, outhouses, garages or basements. To feed, the arachnid
will hang upside down, waiting for insects to get stuck in its web. The black widow is
a comb-footed spider, meaning that it has bristles on the last segment of its hind legs
that resemble a comb. This enables the black widow to quickly wrap silk around its ensnared
and envenomated prey. It will then inject digestive enzymes that liquefy the corpse
and suck up the fluid. Number 5 Thierry
A French man, only identified as Thierry, suffered a severe reaction to the venom of
the European black widow. He was having dinner at home when he felt a bite on his tibia.
Thierry saw the spider but didn’t think too much of the incident. That night, his
leg became swollen and he developed a high fever. He took a painkiller and went back
to bed. The man met some of his friends the following day, but his condition continued
to decline. He got home but, when he didn’t answer his phone because he was too weak,
his friends got worried. They called emergency services and Thierry was taken to the hospital.
His condition improved drastically after 48 hours and a shock dose of antibiotics.
Number 4 Scott Gildard Scott Gildard was one of two black widow victims
to be reported in Oregon, within the span of two weeks. Gildard, a resident of Josephine
County, was returning home from work when he saw a black spider bite him on the left
knee. At first, the man could cope with the pain but it soon took a turn for the worse.
Within a few days, Gildard would wake up in the middle of the night, sweating profusely.
He’d suffer excruciating muscle spasms which he claimed felt as if he was being kicked
by a mule. Gildard eventually decided to seek treatment and his recuperation began with
a course of antibiotics. Several days later, he’d still experience muscle cramps and
couldn’t put any pressure on his left leg. The second victim, a woman from Jackson County,
had been bitten on the hand. She recovered as well but told a media outlet she’d felt
muscle cramps from her shoulders to her legs.
How Will It Kill You? Latrotoxins are the main active components
of black widow venom. Of them, alpha-latrotoxin is a neurotoxin that specifically targets
the receptors of vertebrates. In spite of its notoriety, the bite of a black widow and
the illness associated with it, called latrodectism, is rarely fatal for humans. The illness only
occurs in about 25% of bites, if a substantial dose of venom has been injected. It starts
with a pinprick or burning sensation and eventually develops into flu-like symptoms. The pain
expands from the bite site and worsens, usually over the course of the next hour. The typical
development of latrodectism is characterized by severe sweating, vomiting, weakness and
muscle rigidity. The abdominal cramps associated with envenomation reportedly feel as if someone’s
repeatedly kicking the victim in the stomach. Unless treated with antivenom, the victim
may experience muscle pains for weeks after being bitten. In very rare cases, the venom
can cause the rapid degradation of skeletal muscles or an inflammation of the heart muscle.
The latter has been associated with at least one human death.
Number 3 Richard Highsmith While working in the produce section of a
New Jersey Whole Foods branch, Richard Highsmith was bitten by a black widow. In August of
2017, the arachnid crawled out of a crate and attacked the worker. As the potent venom
rippled through his arm, he experienced temporary paralysis. Highsmith was off work for a month
and required multiple hospital stints and hand therapy. When he returned, Highsmith
suffered debilitating anxiety whenever he approached the produce cooler. The mere thought
of encountering another black widow gave him panic attacks. He claims that he begged to
be moved to a different department but never heard back. Highsmith ultimately stopped going
to work and was fired for “job abandonment”. As a result, he sued Whole Foods seeking damages,
lost wages as well as lawyers’ fees and costs.
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Number 2 Jeff Seale In July 2011, former baseball prospect Jeff
Seale died in circumstances possibly involving black widow bites. Seale, from Erie, Colorado,
worked at a horse stable and had likely picked up the spider in his shoe. He was bitten about
19 times on his foot and, for a few days, experienced joint and muscle pains. Seale
went to get checked out but didn’t follow up on his treatment. He reportedly became
obsessed with eliminating the spiders from his home and even had his house fumigated.
His physical condition improved but he still exhibited some flu-like symptoms. The former
high-school baseball star ultimately died, two weeks after he’d discovered the bites.
On the day of his death, he’d woken up in excruciating pain and couldn’t get up to
do anything. Some wildlife experts argued that the spider hadn’t caused Seale’s
death. They claimed that black widows don’t typically inflict 19 bites and, even if they
do, it’s highly unusual for death to occur after 2 weeks.
How to Survive? Even though latrodectism symptoms often self-resolve
within hours or several days, it’s best to seek professional medical help if you’ve
been bitten. When the pain becomes unbearable, the administration of antivenom is the typical
course of action. The manner of obtaining antivenom is rather interesting. Horses will
be injected with black widow toxins and, over a period a time, develop antibodies. The horse
blood is then extracted and purified so that the antibodies can be used on humans. Treatment
options also include muscle relaxants and pain medication. Benzodiazepines and morphine
are known to ease muscle spasms in the majority of patients.
Number 1 Pat Murtaugh Pat Murtaugh, a scout for the New York Yankees,
was on the verge of sepsis after he was bitten by a black widow. In 2019, he was at a game
in Arizona, when he felt a pinch on his thigh. The following morning, he could feel a knot
at the bite site. He was examined by a doctor in Phoenix but, since there was no discoloration,
the strange mark wasn’t identified. Murtaugh’s condition worsened after he flew to Tennessee.
The bite site turned into a dark circle and the baseball scout started experiencing joint
pains and flu-like symptoms. He went to get checked out again. A doctor told him the infection
was so deep in his tissue that only surgery could help. Because Murtaugh had flown, the
altitude had actually played a role in the spreading of venom and he was close to becoming
septic. After a 45-minute operation, the infected tissue was cut out and the scout promptly
returned to work. Thanks for watching! Would you rather get
bitten by a black widow spider or walk a mile barefoot through shards of broken glass? Let
us know in the comments section below!