Where is Karakurt? Karakurt spider

Karakurts are small in size. Their body is spherical, slightly teardrop-shaped. The female is 3-4 times larger than the male. Its size varies from 1 to 2 centimeters. The male is only 5 millimeters long. The color of the spiders is radically black, but juveniles may have red or dark orange spots, sometimes with a white or yellow outline. In adult individuals such spots may be absent. European species black widows found along the coast Mediterranean Sea, have a characteristic body shine. The hairline is completely absent.

What does he look like in the photo

Another one distinguishing feature karakurts - long front legs.

Where is it found?

Karakurt can be found in the countries of the former Soviet Union:

1. In Kazakhstan. Most often in desert areas.
2. In the steppes of Kyrgyzstan.
3. In Russia they live throughout the south of the country. Most often found in the Astrakhan and Rostov regions, in Krasnodar region, on Southern Urals. IN last years began to be found in the Saratov, Volgograd and Novosibirsk regions, in Altai.
4. In Crimea, almost throughout the entire peninsula.
5. In Ukraine. In cities in the south that have access to the Black and Sea of ​​Azov, as well as in some cities in the east and south (Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye and Mariupol).
6. In Azerbaijan.
7. In Kyrgyzstan.

Where else can you find this spider?

In countries located on the coasts of the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Caspian seas. Starting from southern Europe to the Near and Middle East, as well as North Africa.

Every year its habitat increases. Over the past few years, karakurt has been spotted in more northern regions Russia and Eastern Europe, even in the Moscow region. Although, such a climate is completely unsuitable for it and with the onset of cold weather the spider itself and its cocoons die.

Crimean karakurt

The most dangerous representative of poisonous inhabitants Crimea, even more dangerous than Crimea steppe viper. Inhabits the entire peninsula. Occurs en masse.

Where he likes to live in nature

European species of these spiders prefer desert and steppe areas with sparse vegetation. Favorite place- the shores of salt lakes, which are often found in Crimea. In coastal vegetation on beaches, in sagebrush thickets, in wastelands and along river banks, in ravines and in garbage heaps. They often settle in colonies. A characteristic feature The home of the Karakurt colony is a chaotic layer of cobwebs on the surface of the earth.

How to determine the habitat of this spider

How dangerous are they for humans?

Karakurt certainly poses a danger to humans and domestic animals. Its poison is very toxic and under unfavorable conditions can lead to death, which is periodically recorded in Crimea. Only adult females pose a danger. The male is so small that he cannot bite through human skin. A spider attacks only if there is real danger to it. The most common bites on the arms and legs are mostly due to human inattention.

When are the most dangerous?

Karakurt females are most dangerous during the mating period, before and after that. In June-July, there is a mass migration of females in search of a new nest. More often, it is during this period that bites of humans and domestic animals occur.

How to protect yourself while hiking

You need to be especially careful in June-July when hiking in the Crimea, the southern regions of Russia and the countries of Central Asia. Since during this period, the female karakurt can choose as her home boots left near the tent, clothes thrown on the grass, and even the tent itself.

What happens when bitten. Symptoms

The first minutes after the bite are asymptomatic. Chelicerae black widow so thin that the bitten person may not feel anything. Severe pain comes within an hour, most often after 10-15 minutes. The worst pain is in the lower back, chest, calves and abdomen due to muscle cramps. Because of this, an incorrect diagnosis may be made, for example, a heart attack or gastric ulcer. Painful sensations usually last 1-2 days.

To determine the cause of the pain, you should pay attention to the presence of local redness that appears at the site of the bite.

There are quite a few fatalities from spider bites in Crimea, but there are still people who died in contact with it.

Possible symptoms of poisoning:

• dyspnea;
• swelling of the face;
• frequent heartbeat and increased pulse rate;
• dizziness and loss of consciousness;
• headache;
• vomiting and nausea;
• heavy sweating;
• weakness and feeling of heaviness;
• dilation of the pupils and their movement forward or to the side;
• difficulty breathing due to bronchospasm;
• painful erection;
• problems with urination;
• nervous irritation;
• delirium and blackouts;
• elevated temperature;
• seizures or paralysis of limbs;
• conjunctivitis.

What to do if you are bitten by a karakurt

First aid

If you know for sure that you have been bitten by a black widow, then traces of poison should be visible at the site of the bite. This poison can be partially neutralized thermally, since the jaws of the karakurt bite through the skin by only half a millimeter. One of the most popular options is cauterizing the bite site with 2-3 match heads. This method was proposed by professor of zoology, entomologist and doctor of biological sciences Pavel Marikovsky. Place match heads on the affected area and set fire. It will hurt, but the poison under the skin will be partially destroyed. It is important to carry out this procedure no later than 2 minutes after the bite, otherwise the poison will penetrate deeper and not be destroyed. Also, you can cauterize it with any metal object very heated over the flame of a lighter.

Urgently to the hospital

You must immediately contact a medical facility. Explain to the hospital that there is a suspicion of a karakurt bite. Otherwise, you may be given an incorrect diagnosis with all the ensuing consequences.

The mortality rate from a black widow bite is 4-6% of those bitten. Children and people suffering from chronic diseases are at risk.

What victims of a black widow bite say in a Kazakh hospital

What is treated in hospital?

As a rule, the bitten person is left in the hospital, in the toxicology department or intensive care unit. Antikarakurt serum is administered. After taking the necessary medications, it will take some time to recover. Neurological consequences can last for several months.

1. A certain diet is prescribed.
2. It is advisable to drink more liquid.
3. Limit your physical activity.

How to prevent a bite

For adults. In areas where poisonous spiders live, try to wear closed shoes and long trousers. Pay attention to the webs located closer to the ground. Do not camp or picnic in such areas. Just be careful.
Remember that in Crimea, karakurts are found even on the beaches, in the coastal grass.

For children. Tell your child about karakurts. If you are walking in an area where it may live and you see webs on the ground, change your walking location to a safer one.

So he weaves a web among the stones

Summarize. Karakurts are dangerous, but not aggressive and attack, mostly due to our carelessness when we get too close to them. Observing the precautions described above will allow you to have a trouble-free vacation while hiking in the southern coastal countries.

Video of the fight between karakurt and scorpion

How do they reproduce?

Spiders are quite prolific. In one year they lay several thousand eggs. Once every few years, massive outbreaks of karakurt reproduction are recorded. To lay cocoons, the female looks for a reliable shelter. Most often, these are various earthen holes, sewer and ventilation holes, at the entrance to which you can observe dense layer cobwebs, chaotic shape. A favorite place is under the leaves at the base of the plant. There the female lays cocoons, each of which contains more than a hundred eggs. Cocoons remain in such a shelter throughout the cold period, and young spiders hatch in the spring, closer to April-May, when it is already warm enough. After mating, the female very rarely eats the male. This is characteristic only of the Australian species of karakurt. That is why they are called black widows.

IN wildlife the spider lives only 1-2 years.

Little spiders are born hungry. To such an extent that sometimes they can eat each other.

The spider has enemies. Among them

1. Wasps. They can sting a spider and it dies.
2. Jerzy. Immune to spider attacks.
3. Equestrian beetles. They lay their larvae in a karakurt cocoon. Naturally, new offspring of ichneumon beetles will hatch from the egg.
4. Sheep, goats and pigs. These are the most, since a herd of such animals is capable of trampling a tub of karakurt eggs. However, pigs, goats and sheep do not suffer from bites.

What does it eat?

The spider feeds only on insects. Among them:

• locusts;
• chafers;
• grasshoppers;
• invertebrate animals.

The process of eating the victim occurs as follows:

1. The spider weaves a web to trap insects.
2. Once the prey is caught, it injects poison into it to paralyze it.
3. Now he begins to eat it by sucking it out. All that remains of the insect is its chitinous cover.

Many people think that the snake is the most dangerous creature in the whole world. But on the ground there lives a small spider, whose poison is fifteen times stronger than that of a snake. This is a karakurt spider. It is considered one of the most poisonous of all arachnids on earth. Karakurt is also known as the “black widow”. This is due to the fact that it is black in color. The female was nicknamed widow for eating her spouse after mating. These spiders can be divided into black and white. Both are poisonous. But to understand how dangerous it is, you need not only to know what the karakurt spider looks like, but also how to protect yourself from its poison.

Appearance and characteristics

At first glance, the karakurt seems cute and harmless. Small size a black spider does not cause fear like, for example, a tarantula. His body resembles a construction set. The cephalothorax and abdomen of the spider are ball-shaped. Thin limbs come from the belly. These are four pairs of legs and a pair of jaws. Karakurt spiders count about twenty-two species. But among them there are two most common ones: the black widow and the white karakurt.

Karakurt spider or black widow

The color of the spider's body is black, with a slight tint. Often you can see red spots on the body various shapes, edged with narrow white stripes. It is worth noting that when karakurts become fully mature, the spots may completely disappear. That's why better to avoid all black spiders.

A person having poor vision, can easily confuse a spider with its legs tucked in with a black currant berry. The abdomen of the karakurt consists of an anal lobe and eleven members. The female karakurt has chelicerae (upper jaw) on the other side of which there are poisonous glands. Her poison stronger than poison rattlesnake fifteen times. They are significantly larger than males. The body of a male individual can vary from four to seven millimeters. The female one grows up to two centimeters.

After the mating process, the karakurt black widow eats her spouse and goes to seek shelter for her future offspring. The spider eggs will need to hang in the cocoons all winter until April.

Gallery: karakurt spider (25 photos)

White Lady

The white karakurt can scare even an adult. But these fears are not entirely justified. Undoubtedly this spider poses a danger to people, but its venom is not as toxic as the black widow's venom. However, for a weakened person, an old man or a child, it represents mortal danger. The white karakurt has a head and abdomen yellow color, and on the back there are four black dots. The female of this species of spider is considered quite large. The paw span can reach ten centimeters.

The White Lady is often called the dancing spider. He received this nickname due to his peculiar manner of movement - the characteristic tapping of his paws. Many believe that in this way they communicate with each other, warning of danger. Despite poor eyesight, white karakurts have perfect hearing. When meeting him, you should not make noise and attract his attention. You can see such a handsome creature in natural conditions in the Naimb desert. There are practically no people there. Therefore, there are practically no attacks of white karakurt on humans. White lady compared to black widow considered less dangerous.

Where are karakurts found?

You can meet karakurt most often in North Africa, Central Asia, and Astrakhan steppes. But these spiders are also found in Kazakhstan, southern Ukraine, Crimea, and southern Russia.

In recent years, spiders have begun to appear in:

• Azerbaijan;
• Altai region;
• Moscow region;
• Volgograd, Novosibirsk and Rostov regions.

These spiders most often settle in the steppes, preferring ditches, ravines and arches. Open places they try to avoid, choosing uneven, rocky environments similar to where ferrets live. The steppe spider likes such secluded places as:

• mouse holes;
• crevices;
• in depressions in the ground;
• within the walls of adobe houses.

Wet ravines, warm deserts, dense grasses and shrubs are not suitable for karakurts. But sometimes they can be found in abandoned houses or buildings, and even in your yard.

Spider nutrition and reproduction

The karakurt's digestive system is extraintestinal. When attacking a victim, it pierces it, injecting its poison. At the same time, he pierces it in this way several times so that everything inside is digested. Then it sucks out all the contents. The steppe spider prefers to feed on beetles, grasshoppers, cicadas, locusts and other invertebrate creatures. Small rodents can also become prey.

In one year, the female lays more than a thousand eggs. The male is actively courting the female mating season. But after mating, the “karakurt lady” eats her spouse. For this, the Kalmyks nicknamed the female “belbesen-hara”, which means “black widow”.

The black widow weaves a web around her own nest from the inside. There her offspring will be located in the form of cocoons with eggs. After about seven days, the eggs will hatch into spiderlings. But they don't come out right away. They will live in a cocoon until summer. Only the female can bite through human skin. Her upper jaw has glands so sharp that they can even pierce a fingernail. They pose a particular danger during two months: July and August.. It's mating season time.

Usually karakurt active in late May and June. Therefore, you should not beware of the bites of this insect in winter. But there are known cases of karakurt bites in winter. As a rule, at this time of year all spiders are sleeping, but warm winter may break them biological rhythm. Nevertheless, dangerous period Spider bites can be called July and August.

September and October are the last of the season for them. Usually, they all die with the onset of cold weather. Only spiders in cocoons, which hatch closer to summer, remain alive. Increasingly, the steppe spider can be found in human habitats. It can settle not only in abandoned houses and barns, but also in the yard or, for example, a wooden restroom. During long rains, spiders also penetrate into living spaces.

Diagnosis, symptoms and treatment

Diagnosing a karakurt bite is quite difficult. After an insect bite, a person does not feel pain. It can be detected by two small red spots. Intoxication manifests itself after some time in the form of burning pain throughout the body.

At this time, a person begins to show great anxiety. Fear of death may appear. Afterwards, the pain spreads to the chest and abdomen, and breathing problems begin. Severe poisoning can cause pulmonary edema and cardiac arrest.

Twitching of the muscles of the body and face is added to the pain. You can read pain and fear on the patient’s face. Watery eyes or conjunctivitis may occur.

Diagnostics

The manifestation of symptoms after poisoning with karakurt poison lasts up to three days. In some cases (depending on the body) longer. Severe cases of intoxication can lead to death within 24 hours. Death most often occurs in children bitten by this spider, adults with weakened bodies and serious illnesses, and those who seek medical help too late.

The maximum number of deaths from a karakurt bite is 6% of all registered bites. Recovery of the bitten person occurs gradually. The patient will feel weak and nervous for another two weeks. In some cases, problems with nervous system may appear within two months. Quick recovery depends on the amount of poison that enters the body. When admitted to a medical emergency, the person who has been bitten is often misdiagnosed. Severe pain in the abdomen or heart is often diagnosed as acute gastritis or myocardial infarction.

Protection from karakurt bite

To protect yourself from the bite of the most poisonous spider, you need to be more careful in nature while relaxing. You can prevent contact with karakurt if you follow some rules:

1. You need to stop in areas unsuitable for spider life. The selected location should be free of holes for rodents, cobwebs on vegetation or in soil depressions.
2. Don't take off your shoes and run barefoot on the ground. So you can stumble upon a web, karakurt, which can be located in the depressions of the earth.
3. Never sleep on the ground. For overnight stays, it is best to use an air mattress or tarp. This way you will protect yourself from being bitten at night.
4. When collecting firewood or clearing a campsite, be sure to wear heavy-duty gloves and heavy-duty protective clothing. It is best to wear socks and rubber boots on your feet.
5. Never feel your way on rocky slopes at night.
6. You should not leave your tent open all day. Before going to bed, your sleeping bag or bed must be carefully checked: shake the linen and inspect everything carefully. The same needs to be done with shoes.
7. Most bites are caused by people. Many homeowners neglect their yard and do little to control wild grasses. Therefore, spiders settle in vegetable gardens. Many people leave their shoes between the rows in the evening. Karakurt may mistake it for a mink, and if a person uses it in the morning, it is unlikely that he will be able to avoid being bitten.

Treatment after a black widow bite

Treatment after a karakurt bite must begin immediately. But if this is not possible and you realize that you have been bitten by a spider, you need to immediately cauterize the wound. But this must be done no later than two minutes after the bite. This can be done with a match, cigarette or hot metal.

It is believed that the poison disintegrates when heated. You can also make lotions or introduce a 0.1% solution of potassium permanganate. Treatment after a karakurt bite is carried out using anti-karakurt serum (intravenously). Depending on the poisoning, one or two doses diluted in 1 thousand ml of saline are administered. This serum is produced at the Tashkent Institute. The cost of one dose is 37 thousand rubles. This is a large amount for some hospitals.

Regardless of where and how the victim was bitten, you need to immediately take him to a medical facility. At severe poisoning, the patient needs to be given a lot of water, to warm the limbs during chills and muscle tension. A cool compress and painkillers will help. All this can be done before the ambulance arrives. Don't forget that health care in such cases it is necessary!

Karakurt – poisonous spider. But only the bite of a female is dangerous to human health. Its venom is neurotoxic and causes intense release of acetylcholine at various neuromuscular synapses, as well as at the synapses of the central nervous system. It will not lead to death if the victim knows what symptoms appear when bitten by a karakurt and seeks medical help in time.

The first symptoms of a karakurt bite

The bite of the karakurt is not painful. In most cases, it is perceived as a needle prick or is not even felt. The local reaction to the spider's venom is also absent or very weakly expressed - the skin in the area of ​​the bite may be slightly pale. Most often, there are no local changes and it is difficult to find the bite site. Due to the mild pain of the bite, many victims (especially those who were bitten during sleep) do not associate their sudden poor health with the bite of a poisonous insect and go to a medical facility only after general manifestations of intoxication.

The first general toxic signs of a karakurt bite appear quickly, after about 5 minutes, and progress very rapidly. These include:

• burning pain at the site of the bite;
• painful sensations V ;
• pain radiating to the joints of the legs;
• dizziness.

The severity of pain varies from relatively mild to extremely severe. It all depends on the toxicity of the poison. If the poisoning is severe, after a karakurt bite, symptoms such as:

• excruciating muscle pain (can be combined with paresthesia in the lower back, abdomen or chest);
• nervous excitement;
• pronounced fear of death;
• pale skin;
• lacrimation.

Signs of a karakurt bite

If the patient is not given first aid, soon after the karakurt bite other symptoms begin to develop. The victim develops muscle weakness. It is especially pronounced in the lower extremities, as a result of which a person has difficulty moving or cannot stand on his feet at all. Drawing and aching pains of different localization can be combined with severe muscle tension. Very often the abdominal muscles are very tense. Signs of a karakurt bite include dry tongue, severe leukocytosis, intestinal paresis and increased temperature. All of them imitate the picture of an acute abdomen, which is why there are cases of erroneous surgical intervention in cases of poisoning by the venom of this type of spider.

Many victims also experience nausea and vomiting, tension, and severe muscle dysfunction in the limbs or back. If treatment is not provided at this stage, the following may occur:

• positive Kernig syndrome;
• sphincter spasm;
• tremor or convulsive twitching of the neck muscles;
• dysfunction of the respiratory muscles;
• increase in blood pressure.

Symptoms of extremely severe poisoning

In severe cases, other symptoms of a karakurt spider bite occur. The victim's excitement gives way to apathy and depression. He experiences confusion (in some cases with psychotic reactions) and progressive shortness of breath (wheezing, crepitus, frothy sputum).

Most people who are bitten develop a rose-colored rash on skin. The acute phase of intoxication is also characterized by the phenomenon of layering of pain of different localization and nature on top of each other. This condition is complicated by a strong feeling of fear, tension in various muscle groups and severe muscle weakness. Disorders of peristalsis or urination may also occur.

In mild forms of poisoning after a karakurt bite, the painful phenomena are completely relieved by the end of the first day. If the poison has severely affected the body, the victim may feel pain for 3-4 days.

The karakurt spider, called the “black widow,” is related to the family of web spiders and to the order Spiders. These invertebrate arthropods live from 10 to 14 months for males and females, respectively. In nature you can find several varieties of these insects - white karakurt, as well as black spider and others. The class of insects in question is the most poisonous in the world. Females are called black widows because they have a common biological feature– biting the head of males after mating. A karakurt bite can be fatal to any person exposed to it.

External characteristics of the karakurt spider

Let's consider a detailed description of adult individuals. For appearance, there are several characteristic features What does a karakurt spider look like?

• A smooth body without hair, which gives the insect a noble appearance, similar to a harmless creature;
• In females who have reached mature age, the body looks like a ball and has a size of 1.5-2 cm. The male has slightly different indicators.
• Only the male spider is distinguished throughout its life by the presence of pronounced red spots on its back.

A mortal threat to human life is posed by the poison of this insect, which, penetrating under the skin, slowly kills.

Spider venom

The poison of the karakurt is located in the cephalothorax area; its glands are connected by ducts with small claws present in the upper jaws. The glands also contain a muscular layer; due to the fact that a sharp contraction of the muscles occurs, the victim instantly receives a portion of poison. The female and the male pose an identical danger, and based on biochemical data, karakurt has poison - TOXABULMIN, its distribution occurs along the paths, and there are several fractions. The sensitivity of warm-blooded victims to poisonous substances varies. The karakurt spider “appearance shown in the photo” especially affects camels, horses, and people.

Where is the spider common?

White karakurt, as well as black individuals and their other varieties, are found mainly in hot countries in which they were created. good conditions. Most often they can be found in Ukraine, the Caucasus and Central Asia, in the Crimea; such spiders were also found in Rostov region. Features of the distribution of individuals depend on individual climatic conditions. Typically, these poisonous creatures live in mouse burrows, in areas of cracked adobe walls, as well as in wormwood steppes, wastelands and other places. Such individuals do not live in deserts or places with excessive humidity. In Crimea and the Rostov region, spiders are especially common due to weather conditions that are attractive to them.

Karakurt lifestyle

Karakurt (from the genus of black widows) prefers to create a nest near the stem base on the grass or on the ground. They weave spherical cocoons, eggs are placed in them, and a fishing net is located. The latter elements are made, like cocoons, from tight webs with a tensile coefficient of 30%. The construction of cocoons begins in July or August. After just a week, small spiders appear there, but their emergence occurs only next year, when the air temperature reaches 30 degrees.

How a spider bites

A karakurt bite carries a serious danger, but this statement is not 100% true. Human skin cannot be bitten by a male, but a female representative can easily cope with this task. However, it is its glands that are poisonous. The white karakurt and the black individual are especially dangerous during the mating season, when nesting occurs.

Bite symptoms

A person bitten by a karakurt suffers from several symptoms that manifest themselves quite clearly.

• 10 minutes after the bite, the body begins to break down and chills appear;
• there is a severe headache, an unpleasant sensation in the lower back;
• the chest, abdominal area, upper and lower abs suffer;
• after the first signs, unexplained weakness may appear;
• the person begins to turn pale, tears flow, and nausea appears;
• there is a clouding of general consciousness, especially at the last stage;
• a state of severe depression and insurmountable fear arises.

First aid for a karakurt bite involves the administration of an antidote - a special serum. This activity should be done within the first 10 minutes after the bite to prevent fatal outcome bitten person.

One thing that can be said in favor of the spider is that the insect never attacks first. A bite occurs when a person steps on a nest or female.

What to do if you are bitten

If you decide to take a walk around the outskirts of your city or go on a picnic, it is recommended to take matches with you. If a spider has bitten you, you need to quickly cauterize the affected area with a match, this will destroy the poison formulas. If a spider has marked you, you need to go to the nearest specialized medical facility and administer an antidote. Serum is quite expensive, so products to replace it are often used.

• Injection into the subcutaneous area of ​​0.1% potassium permanganate, 5 ml;
• performing homemade lotions.

It is worth remembering that after the first procedures, the poison (no matter who bit - Crimean or Caucasian karakurt) will not be completely neutralized, relief will come only after a few weeks. Everything will depend on the season and age of the individual, as well as on the amount of poison injected under the skin.

Thus, a biting spider poses a danger to humans. We looked at what the karakurt spider looks like from its photo, and you can also get acquainted with the features of the life activity that the karakurt spider leads in the video.