Here are all the important excerpts you can select
1. Overview of Spiders
According to literature, there are estimated to be more than 30,000 species of spiders in the world. It belongs to 66 families, 39 families exist in my country, and there are about 3,000 species. The largest spider is 9 cm long, and the smallest is only 1 mm. The tarantulas we raise here have a maximum body length of nearly 10 centimeters and are called the "King of Poisonous Spiders in the World."
In ancient Chinese books, there are many synonyms for spiders. Such as web worms, flat beads, round beads, etc. It is recorded in Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Spiders are Erya soil spiders, and there are webs in the soil."
Spiders are both beneficial and harmful to humans, but in terms of their contributions, they are mainly beneficial insects. For example, most of what spiders prey on in farmland are crop pests. At the same time, there are records of spiders being used as medicine in many traditional Chinese medicines. Therefore, protecting and utilizing spiders is of great significance. In particular, protecting rice field spiders has three major benefits: first, it effectively stabilizes the balance of biological populations; second, it reduces chemical pesticide residues in rice and ensures the safety of humans and animals; third, it reduces production costs and increases production and income. Therefore, in the prevention and control of crop diseases and insect pests, it is advocated to use highly efficient and low-toxic pesticides, carry out biological control, and protect natural enemies, both at the same time.
There are many kinds of spiders, with wide distribution and strong adaptability. They can live or build webs on the soil surface, in the soil, on trees, in grass, under rocks, caves, watersides, low-lying areas, They can be found in bushes, moss, inside and outside houses, or inhabit fresh water (such as water spiders) and coastal lakes (such as lake spiders). In short, there are traces of spiders on water, land and air.
Spiders, in animal taxonomy, belong to the phylum Arachnida, the class Arachnida, and the order Araneae. Those belonging to the class Arachnida are small and medium-sized or very small arthropods. There are 14 orders. Five species have become extinct. Seven orders have been discovered in my country, and there are 66 families belonging to the order Araneae.
2. Biological characteristics and habits of spiders
Spiders are covered by a chitin exoskeleton, and their bodies are clearly divided into cephalothorax and abdomen. There is often an abdominal third between the two. An abdominal segment is connected to a thin handle, and there is no tail segment or tail whip. The spider has no compound eyes, and has 6 pairs of appendages on the cephalothorax. The first and second pairs are head appendages. The first pair is the chelicerae, which has 2 segments. The enlarged part at the base is the chelicerae, and the tapering part at the end is the chelicerae. , the teeth are tubular, and there are venom glands in the chelae or in the cephalothorax, from which the venom secreted is derived. The second pair of appendages is called palps, which are shaped like walking legs, but only have 6 sections. The base section forms a jaw-like protrusion near the mouth, which can assist in feeding. The distal segments of female spiders have no major changes, while the distal segments of male spiders have special features. Transformed into reproductive auxiliary organs, with sperm storage and sperm transmission structures, it is called a haptic organ. The third to sixth pairs of appendages are walking legs, which are composed of 7 segments. They have claws at the end and a tuft of hard hairs under the claws, so they are suitable for crawling on smooth objects.
Most spiders have venom glands, and there are two types of movement of their chelicerae and claws. Most cave-dwelling spiders move up and down, while spiders that hunt on the ground and build webs in the air are like pliers. of sweep.
No antennae, no wings, no compound eyes, only a single eye. Generally there are 8 eyes, but there are also 6, 4 or 2 eyes. Some species even have no eyes. In terms of the color and function of the eyes , and divided into two types: night and day.
The mouthparts of spiders are composed of chelicerae, palpebrae, upper lip, and lower lip. They have the functions of poisoning, capturing, crushing food, and sucking juice.
Some spiders have tufts composed of sticky hairs under their tarsal claws. The tufts enable the spider to crawl on vertical smooth objects. Spiders that build webs have several claw-like spines near the top of their tarsus, called accessory claws.
Most spiders have unsegmented abdomens. The presence or absence of external female organs (called reproductive organs) is an important feature for identifying female species. There is a special spinning organ in the middle of the ventral surface or at the rear end of the ventral surface. Three pairs of spinning organs are called front, middle and posterior spinning organs according to their placement positions. There is a membranous spinning tube at the top of the spinning organ, surrounded by Coat, different spiders have different numbers of spin tubes, and different shapes of spin tubes spin different spider silks. The sieve of the spin tube is also a spinning organ, like the sieve of the linear hooded spider of the family Therididae. There are 9,600 spinning tubes, which shows that the silk spun is extremely fine. There are 8 types of silk glands that are led out of the body through spin tubes. The size and number of silk glands increase with the growth of the spider and its successive molts. Spider silk is a type of bone protein that is very sticky, tough and elastic. It hardens when exposed to air after being spit out.
Dioecious, the male body is smaller than the female body, the tarsus of the male's tentacles develop into the tentacles, and the female has external female organs after the last molt.
Spiders lay eggs, and the eggs are usually wrapped in silk egg bags. The female protects and carries the egg bags in different ways, or places them on a net, under a stone, on a branch, or holds the egg bag in her mouth. Chest holding egg bag, etc. It is an incomplete metamorphosis, and the abdomen is still segmented during the embryonic stage, and it can live with or without webs. The nets include round nets, pan nets, funnel nets, triangular nets, irregular nets, etc. There is a folk song "Little Zhuge Liang, sitting alone in the military tent, setting up a Bagua formation, specifically to catch flying generals", which vividly depicts the phenomenon of spiders spreading webs to catch insects.
The most special internal structure of spiders is the book lungs, which are respiratory organs. The inside of the book lungs is a sac, and the walls of each sac protrude inward into many leaf-like folds, just like the pages of a book.
Spider venom glands are cylindrical, and the gland wall is composed of a layer of cells. There is a duct in front of the venom gland, which opens near the front end of the claws. The venom gland secretes venom, which is lethal to small animals, and some can also be life-threatening to humans. If you are bitten by a red-spotted poisonous spider or a burrowing wolf spider, you must receive prompt treatment to avoid life-threatening injuries.
Spiders are carnivores, and most of their food is insects or other arthropods. However, they have no upper jaw and do not directly swallow fixed food. When the bait is captured with a net, the venom secreted by the venom glands in the chelicerae is first injected into the captured object to kill it. The digestive enzymes secreted by the midgut are infused into the tissues of the captured object that are torn by the chelicerae, quickly killing it. It is broken down into juice and then sucked into the digestive tract.
The digestive tract is divided into three parts: foregut, midgut and hindgut. The foregut includes the mouth, pharynx, esophagus and sucking stomach. The tubular pharynx and sucking stomach can suck liquid food into the digestive tract and transport it to the midgut. The midgut includes a central midgut tube and caecum on both sides. After the midgut is the hindgut, where excrement collects.
A pair of Malpighian ducts of the excretory organs originate from the endoderm. In addition to Malpighian ducts, spiderlings also have a pair of basal glands for excretion. However, the basal glands of adult spiders are mostly degenerated and have no excretory function.
Spider lifestyles can be divided into two broad categories. That is, hunting type and settled type. Nomads are spiders that hunt and hunt everywhere, have no fixed abode, and do not build webs, dig holes, or build nests at all. Squamidae, Ursinidae, and most species of Lycosidae, etc. Sedentary: Some build webs, some dig burrows, and some build nests as fixed residences. Such as wall money, stone spiders, etc. Spiders seem to be polite. Those who live independently keep a certain distance between individuals and do not invade each other.
Spiders are not only dimorphic, with males smaller than females, but also some have different colors. For example, the male of the Jumping Spider family has bright body color, while the female body color is dull. The male of the Cancer Spider family has red markings on the back, while the female body color is all red. green.
Male spiders mature earlier than female spiders, and the male spiders appear for a shorter time. Generally, most of the spiders collected are female spiders. Spiders have a unique mating method. For example, after mating, the male will not be killed by the female spider. Those who die and escape can mate again.
Before laying eggs, the female spider first uses silk to make a "laying pudding". Eggs are laid on them, which are then covered with silk. And weave the egg bag into a fixed form. A female spider usually only lays one egg bag, but some may lay multiple egg bags. For example, the round bead spider lays 5 to 6 eggs, and the red-spotted poisonous spider lays 13 eggs. The number of eggs laid by a female spider can range from a few to hundreds. , such as the red-spotted poisonous spider can produce 60 to 720 individuals, and some species of the Orbidae family can produce 1,000 individuals.
The spiderlings hatched from the egg shell still remain in the egg bag. They must molt once in the egg bag before leaving the egg bag. Because wolf spiders not only hunt with egg bags, but also have the habit of carrying their young when they hatch, so wolf spiders are called baby spiders. Some female spiders die immediately after weaving their egg bags, some continue to live for a period of time before dying after the spiderlings escape from the egg bag, and some are bitten alive by their hatched spiderlings for food.
Before a spider reaches maturity, it must molt multiple times as it grows. The number and intervals of molts are very inconsistent. Generally speaking, small spiders molt 4 to 5 times in their lifetime; medium-sized spiders molt about 7 to 8 times. times; large spiders about 11 to 13 times, such as the red-spotted poisonous spider, the male spider molts 5 times and the female spider 7 times.
Compared with ordinary insects, spiders are long-lived. Most spiders complete a life cycle, usually 8 months to 2 years. Male spiders are short-lived and die soon after mating. Others, such as water spiders and cunning spiders, can live for 18 months, burrowing wolf spiders can live for 2 years, cancer crab spiders can live for more than 2 years, and tarantulas can live as long as 20 to 30 years.
All spiders use silk in their lives. Silk is secreted by silk gland cells. It is a viscous liquid in the gland cavity. After being exported through the spinning tube, it quickly condenses into silk when it encounters air. Silk The specific gravity is 1.28, which is strong and elastic.
Cave spiders stay in their webs during the day and guard the entrance of the cave at night, waiting for opportunities to hunt or go out to forage. The bear spider digs a shallow hole under a clod of soil, the burrowing wolf spider digs a deep vertical hole in the ground, and the dancing spider adds a removable cover at the entrance of the hole. This kind of flap is composed of multiple layers of silk. The burrow of the giant spider is up to 1 meter deep. The spider is small and highly venomous. Once it bites a rabbit, it will die in four minutes.
When the young spiders start to build webs, if there is no object attached to the spider silk, and there happens to be an upward airflow, they will rise into the air and fly with the wind in the air, such as those of the family Orchidaceae, Wolf spiders, robber spiders, jumping spiders, etc. all have the ability to "fly", which is very useful in preventing each other from killing each other and evacuating too densely.
Spiders are carnivorous and have a wide range of food habits, but they mainly prey on insects. They can sometimes prey on animals several times larger than themselves, such as the South American tarantula, which sometimes preys on small birds, rats, etc. . The spider's mouth is only suitable for sucking liquid food. When prey is captured, venom is first injected into the prey. After the prey is anesthetized or killed, digestive juice is secreted and injected into the prey through the prey's wound. It is first digested outside the body. After the soft tissue of the prey is decomposed and liquefied, it is inhaled into the body, and then Digestion and absorption in the body.
Spiders have many natural enemies. Toads, frogs, mosquitoes, lizards, centipedes and birds all prey on spiders. Some parasitic wasps parasitize in spider eggs, and the larvae of some parasitic flies develop in spider egg bags. parasitic form into the body of the spider. Spiders often use a variety of methods to defend themselves against enemies, such as venom discharge, hiding, pseudo-bags, mimicry, protective coloration, vibration, etc.
When you can't escape and your appendages are caught by enemies, you can simply cut off your appendages and run away. Anyway, the severed legs will regenerate during molting.
3. Medicinal uses of spiders
Check several medical monographs, focusing on the use of the body of the large-bellied garden-web spider in the family Araneidae, which is the most common spider in my country. Spiders are distributed all over the country. They mostly live under eaves and among trees. They build large wheel webs, mostly at dusk. The webs are tough and sticky. They feed on other small insects and also eat them. Other spiders. Generally active between March and April to October, caught in summer and autumn, it can be used fresh or scalded in boiling water, dried in the sun, or dried for later use.
The whole orb spider is processed, the head and feet are removed, fried and stored. It has the functions of detoxification and swelling reduction. Indications: Treatment of sores, scrofula and tuberculosis, sores, centipede, bee and scorpion claw wounds, mute mouth, stroke, convulsions in children, malnutrition, impotence, etc. There are also records of treating anal prolapse, underarm odor, aphtha in children, inguinal hernia, back sores, nasal polyps, etc.
The web of the big-bellied orb-web spider is also a medicine for treating bleeding, vomiting blood and sores. It can be taken internally (fried yellow and ground into powder) and externally (applied).
There is also a short-clawed fly tiger of the jumping spider family. It is very small and likes to jump. It is named after hunting flies for food. It has the function of regulating blood vessels and can cure bruises and injuries. There is also □□, a kind of soil spider, which can also be used as medicine. It is mainly used to treat boils and sarcomas.
Spider shells, the skin shells taken off by spiders, are mainly used to treat tooth decay and bleeding gums. Spider webs are the most poisonous and can tangle and break an ox's tail. They are mainly used to treat forgetfulness.
4. The toxicity of spiders
There is no exact statistics on how many truly poisonous spiders there are. The most poisonous spiders in the world are the Mediterranean black widow spiders of the family Orbidae. The brown flat-armored spider of the Araneidae family, the Australian funnel spider of the Asteridae family, the black-bellied ctenoid spider of the Ctenoididae family, and the Australian tarantula of the Tarantulaidae family. According to statistics, there were 1,726 cases of Lathroclectus stings in the United States from 1959 to 1973, resulting in 55 deaths. The bites of line spiders, tarantulas, etc. are larger and deeper, while the bites of wolf spiders, orb spiders, etc. are lighter. The toxin of Phoneufria spider is very strong. A test was conducted on 20 grams of white mice. If 0.006 mg of toxin was injected intravenously, death would occur within 2 to 5 hours. The toxicity of female spiders is much stronger than that of male spiders, and male spiders will not give any poison. A lethal amount of toxins. Because spiders are very poisonous, people in Brazil, the eastern Mediterranean, Yugoslavia and other countries are afraid of seeing spiders.
The most toxic spiders in my country include the following:
1. Tarantulas produced in Guangxi, Yunnan, Hainan and other places.
2. Red claw spiders distributed in Shanghai, Nanjing, Beijing, Northeast and other places.
3. Burrowing wolf spider distributed in Xinjiang, northern Shaanxi, Hebei, Changchun and other places.
4. The hairy long-tailed spider is common in the mountains of central and southern Taiwan.
5. The black widow spider reported in Fujian. Among them are two spiders whose toxicity has been studied by Chinese scholars.
5. Collection of spiders
1. Collection tools
(1) Collection glass tubes: Plastic tubes can also be used instead.
(2) Glass vial. (3) Alcohol: 75% to 85%. It is best to add 0.5% to 1% glycerin to the alcohol to make the insect body slightly softer.
(4) Tweezers (both large and small), shovels, magnifying glasses, petri dishes, cotton, pencils, writing brushes, record books, and collection bags.
(5) Spider web: Use white smooth and strong silk or cloth, cut into four pieces of trapezoidal cloth 20 cm wide and 60 cm long, sew into a net bag, and use 8 cm white cotton cloth Made into a bag mouth. The mesh handle can be sewn from 2 to 3 sections.
(6) Storage tube (box) or living specimen tube: Use an empty tube with thick glass or a special storage box (video tape box can be used), and put the captured spider specimens into it for storage. It can also be made into specimens and used for artificial breeding.
2. Collection method
(1) The ecology of spiders is different, and the collection methods are also different. The collection action must be steady, fast and accurate. The purpose of collection is different, and the processing methods are also different. Try to collect mature individuals as much as possible, protect the integrity of the limbs, and try to catch them without using hands to avoid being bitten by poisonous spiders. Finally, write down various records in a timely manner, such as collection time, location, type, color, pattern, etc. Observe first and then collect. Spiders will not run away if they are not frightened. If you encounter male and female spiders living together, try to collect them at the same time and put them together in a glass tube.
(2) When collecting hunting spiders, you can use the shooting down method and the sweeping method. Place the spider net, white cotton cloth, or plastic plate under the branches, and tap the branches and leaves with bamboo sticks. The spiders will be violently vibrated and fall on their own, and can be captured with a glass tube. Or use an insect net to sweep across the branches and leaves of the grass. If you sweep straight, the results will be brilliant, such as the Lycosidae, Cat Spiders, Wall Spiders, and Jumping Spiders.
(3) When collecting web-making spiders, you must treat them differently. Orbidae, which build round webs, like to squat in the center of the web to hunt for food at night. During the day or under the scorching sun, they often hide in a corner of the web, with leaves On the back side, if it is hidden, you can gently move the spider web to lure the spider to the web. Taking advantage of the frightened spider's habit of descending along the silk, a glass tube can be used to take over from below. The funnel spiders that build funnel webs are agile and difficult to catch. You need to gently move the web to reveal the spider, quickly block the mouth of the funnel, and capture it with a petri dish or tube.
The spider web spiders that make webs must also be trapped. For spiders with irregular webs, be sure to keep track of their position on the web. If they fall into the grass by feigning death, you can open the grass and capture them. For spiders that often dig burrows at the base of walls or on the ground, you must first look for fresh wet soil particles scattered around the entrance of the hole to find the location of the hole. First use grass to lightly move the removable cover to lure the spider to crawl to the entrance of the hole, and then use a shovel to Shovel diagonally into the soil from the side of the hole to cut off the hole. With no way out, only the last limbs will be captured.
(4) After the spiders are collected, they may be used to prepare specimens or be raised in captivity. If species identification is required, the chelicerae of the spider, the external female organs of the female spider, and the male Take a closer look at the spider's tentacles.
6. Artificial breeding of spiders
Because spiders are ferocious in nature, all carnivorous, and have the habit of killing each other, it is easy to succeed in raising them alone, but it is more difficult to raise them in groups. And because spiders have a variety of food habits, are resistant to hunger, and have strong vitality, as long as the three basic conditions of food, water and shelter are ensured, success can be achieved. Raised and observed in a gas lampshade, it was found that a wolf spider with a body length of about 1 cm preyed on 7 to 12 planthoppers, leafhoppers, and flies every day. The pseudo-ringed wolf spider can withstand hunger for 34 to 112 days without water supply. The spider's strong hunger tolerance is related to its large food intake. Generally, the higher the temperature, the worse the hunger resistance.
1. Single breeding
(1) Safari spiders: Since they do not build webs, the breeding containers used can be smaller, such as glass bottles, tubes, lampshades, and petri dishes. Both are available.
(2) Raising a single spider in a corrugated glass tube. The mouth of the tube is a cork with a small glass tube. A small cotton ball is plugged into the lower end of the small glass tube. Clean water can be injected through the top of the small glass tube. Or inject 10% honey solution (for raising young spiders) to supply water. The other end of the mosquito-catching glass tube is a round bottom that protrudes into the tube. There is a small hole in the center of the bottom, which is stuffed with cotton to prevent spiders from escaping. You can also use this hole to put in live insects such as planthoppers, leafhoppers, aphids, flies, etc., or put in artificial feed such as egg yolks to provide food sources.
(3) Lampshade breeding: suitable for medium-sized spiders that do not build webs. Tie the top of the lampshade with gauze and make a small hole in the gauze. Install a glass tube for water and food. The top of the lampshade is placed on a white porcelain pot that is larger than the lampshade. Fertilizer soil can be spread in the pot and plants suitable for the living conditions of the spider can be planted. Can be raised as spiders and spiderlings.
(4) Wooden box breeding: suitable for web-building spiders, such as orb spiders, octopus, etc. The height of the wooden box is preferably about 1 meter. The wooden board only needs to be smooth on the outside and rough on the inside, which is convenient for spiders. For crawling, there is a valve on both sides of the box below to facilitate operation inside the box. The top and four sides of the box are surrounded by nylon mesh to facilitate ventilation and light transmission. The box can be arranged to simulate natural living conditions, making it easier to set up a net, inhabit and hunt prey. You can place a petri dish containing water (use cotton balls to store water without drowning the spider) and another dish containing artificial feed.
2. Group breeding
Large wooden boxes can be designed to increase spider species and the number of spiders. The layout in the box should simulate the natural ecological conditions of spiders. There is also a breeding box with iron window screen as the cage wall, which can be directly covered with straw. A funnel-shaped insect collector is installed on the top of the cage. The method of using lights to attract insects and group breeding is difficult to achieve the ideal effect and is still being explored.
3. Artificial feed
There are many types of spiders with complex feeding habits. It is not easy to develop effective human feed. Here we introduce a kind of spider suitable for raising red claw spiders and wolf spiders. As for the artificial diet of spiders, crab spiders were raised with a mixed feed of 4 parts egg yolk and 1 part miscellaneous ingredients for 6 weeks, and no adverse effects were found.