Comments on: Male funnel-web spider

By: Natenkate

Natenkate — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:41:44 +0000

I have a confirmed spider bite, but I am not sure if it was a funnel web spider or a wolf spider. The body shape and color is similar. It was about 1/2 inch long and ran like heck after it bit me, so other than seeing it’s size and shape, I didn’t get much of an identification on it. It must have been on the back of my leg, and bit me when I sat in the car. Can’t blame him for fighting back with that bulk coming down on top of him.
It felt like a wasp sting, a very strong ‘hot’ sensation, like stepping on a hot coal, where it takes the brain a moment to figure out what it is and then the pain kicks in. The strangest thing is the side effect. My muscle down the back of my thigh, where the bite is, has been in almost constant spasms and tremors for 4 days. That has left my leg very sore and me tired (hard to sleep with a non-stop charlie horse in your thigh) The bite itself is no longer painful, that lasted only a few hours, it just itches now. The spasms are slowly getting better and now only start up when I move, so I am guessing a few more days and it will be back to normal.
Now, that being said, I am allergic to a lot of things, including mosquitoes and bees, so I am guessing this is not a typical reaction to a spider bite, but an allergic one. It is almost entertaining to feel ones muscle writhe beneath the skin, but it feels like I ran a couple marathons.

By: Roberto Granados

Roberto Granados — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:59:30 +0000

Hi again!
I just checked out the Transylvania University spider ID page.I sselected everything characteristic of a Tarantula(found in desert,under rock,in summer,no web,legs short and thick,walks slowly,5″ body,brown,furry,8-eyed,long spinnerets),and it told me that I described a spider in the Loxoscelidae.Something must be wrong with that page.

By: Roberto Granados

Roberto Granados — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:29:44 +0000

Tim,
I just took a little closer look at the pictures of the funnel weaver,
and realized that it is NOT a Mygale.My bad.:)
We have a similar looking species here,but I am not sure what species it is.
They have pretty big jaws and have tryed to bite me,but luckily I was
handling the spider with tweezers when that occured.

I thought it was funny that you mentioned how any largish,brown spider will
often be mistaken for a Loxosceles recluse spider.That happened with me once
wwhen I turned over a board in our yard,and found a young Calisoga spider under it.When they are young,they have a similar coloration to Browwn recluses,and
they even have a similar mark on their carapace.

Sac spiders,and even sometimes Pholcids,look a little like recluse spiders also.
I noticed that people have been posting comments describing being bitten by a
spider,and I might as well contribute more information on my spider bite.
I was out on the porch one day,relaxing,when a Red jumping spider(Phidippus johnsoni) plopped down onto my shoulder.I picked it up,meaning to place it on
my arm,when I felt a sharp prick on my fore arm.

I looked down,and saw that the jumper had latched on to my skin with its chelicerae.Oh darn,I thought,I must have picked him up too roughly.I literally
had to pull the spider off of my arm.Soon,there were two raised bumps where his fangs had punctured my skin,surrounded by a small red area.

The stinging caused by the spider’s venom went away within a day,but I still have two little bumps on my arm where the jumper bit me. Fortunately,we don’t have very many dangerous spiders here in Northern California,except for Black Widows and Yellow Sac spiders,which are all over the place.

By: Tim Eisele

Tim Eisele — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:00:16 +0000

Roberto: If I were in the Southwest I might agree with you that this could have been a Calisoga spider, but Mygalomorphs are pretty much nonexistent in Michigan. The only wild Mygalomorphs I’ve ever heard of in the state is a population of trapdoor spiders that was just recently discovered in an arboretum near Ann Arbor, which is a good 500 miles from here.

Plus, my pictures might be a bit misleading as to scale – the grid squares in the pictures are 1 mm, so his body was only about 7 mm long.

By: Roberto Granados

Roberto Granados — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 21:20:41 +0000

I don’t really know if that is a Grass spider, it looks like a Mygalorph and
is probably a Calisoga spider. I’ve only been bitten by a Jumping spider,
so I don’t really know how bad a Calisoga bite is.I’ve heard it is like a
bee sting.They ARE related to Tarantulas,but are not as docile
and will bite if they are handled.You won’t die,but it will hurt,
and unless you like pain I would NOT pick these little creatures up.:)

By: Tim Eisele

Tim Eisele — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:43:39 +0000

Well, if it isn’t healing up, you should see a doctor. From what I understand, the sort of necrotic lesion that you describe is usually a secondary bacterial infection, it isn’t actually caused directly by spider venom. If it was started by a spider bite, the spider would have made an initial wound where the bacteria could get under your skin, and the bacteria would take it from there. Your wound probably needs to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, and you may need a course of antibiotics if it is severe.

By: miranda

miranda — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:03:39 +0000

well i got bit by a grass spider and at first it was a bump then it turned into like a whole like it looks like someone took a razer and carved a circle wat do i do?

By: kayla

kayla — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:26:48 +0000

this really helped me alot with spiders i had no clue on wat was wat really no idear u guys helped me alot n i no wat to do now if i get bitten thanks you

By: jimmy

jimmy — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:14:12 +0000

i love spides and snakes

By: Tim Eisele

Tim Eisele — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 10:38:35 +0000

Thanks for the information about (a) how to get bitten by a spider, and (b) what it’s like. Maybe I should start a separate page with descriptions of positively identified bites, with descriptions about what they are actually like (no “I think it was a spider, but I didn’t see it bite me” cases, though)