Fixing a TERRIBLE Australian Spider Chart
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- It seems many Australians grew up with this particular chart, or at the very least something similar, hanging on their fridge. Even to this day, it gets shared all over social media. However, how accurate is it? Well, if you know anything about the extent to which spiders fall victim to sensationalism, you wouldn't be surprised by the fact that it is rife with inaccuracies. Everything from perpetuating the myth of white tail spiders being dangerous to suggesting mouse spiders are bigger than funnel-webs. In this video, I'll discuss its errors, and make a few corrections.
Music:
Teller of the Tales by Kevin MacLeod
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License: filmmusic.io/s...
Midnight Tale by Kevin MacLeod
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License: filmmusic.io/s...
Suonatore di Liuto by Kevin MacLeod
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Village Ambiance by Alexander Nakarada
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License: creativecommons...
Back with another banger I see? This same spider chart was repurposed for the United States as well, which ended up being even worse as they not only included the hobo spider in the deadly category (which for an American spider chart, honestly has no reason to be there in the first place, as even the medically significant spiders here are most definitely not fatal), but they also forgot to even change the other two categories… I wonder how many people think that mouse spiders live in the us and that all the argiope spiders are a “saint Andrew’s cross” lmao…
Yeah I’ve seen the US-modified version. Obviously went with addressing the Australian one cause that’s what I’m most familiar with though.
@@BugsandBiology you might know the answer to this question, I'm curious to know if it is true that white tailed spiders do not deserve their reputation for being dangerous ? I actually got bitten by a white tailed spider myself at home at my unit and it really didn't do much to me. I had an itchy lump on my leg for a few days next to where I got bitten, but apart from that I was fine and I had absolutely no reaction at all to the bite.
@@craigpater6278They don’t deserve their reputation, as stated in this video and the one in which I took an intentional bite.
@@BugsandBiology that's what I thought would be the case I didn't get around to watching this whole video before I asked you about white tailed spiders, but I thought that it might be the case that white tailed spiders do not deserve their reputation for being dangerous. Is it possible that there might be a small percentage of people who develop a severe anaphylaxis or allergic reaction to white tailed spider bites ?. Honey bee stings are not usually dangerous to healthy adults , but a small percentage of people have a severe anaphylaxis or allergic reaction to bee stings, so I wondered if it might be the same with white tailed spider bites.
Even worse, in Europe there is another spider commonly referred to as a "mouse spider" (Scotophaeus blackwalli, a gnaphosid, and neither medically significant nor especially bitey). It doesn't live in the US but other gnaphosids do. So this has folks in the US calling Parson spiders "mouse spiders" and assuming that they're dangerous. Foo!
11:19 In America, the 'Daddy Long-Legs' refers to a Harvestman, which is not a spider
Yeah I think that might be because harvestman aren’t really common here so that’s what we title the cellar spider
In the uk it also refers to crane flies which aren't even arachnids :)
On the last point, maybe including, in small text, the general estimated amount of species in each category. It might help inform people about the relative rarity of truly dangerous spider species. Also, I came from the Prehistoric Planet and Lofe on our Planet reviews, so looking forward to more prehistory-themed videos.
Come to think of it, that is a very simple and effective solution that I somehow overlooked. Would definitely make it much more evident how massively outnumbered medically significant spiders are.
I'd prefer to ditch the chart entirely since I don't regard spiders as pests. But it provided a topic for discussion. In any case, is someone really going to call a pest control company to deal with a couple of Huntsman spiders? I wanted to remove an old garden decoration from a wall and when I lifted it, there was a female Huntsman with her babies. So I put it back and left her in peace.
No, you're not an idiot spreading misinformation about White-tailed Spiders. It has been at least 20 years since the myth of necrosis has been debunked, yet the stupid story won't die.
As ever, love the footage of the spiders.
I always considered the notion of the white-tailed spider being classified in the 'DANGEROUS' category a bit of an exaggeration, especially when the observed effects of it's venom don't add up to some those claims people make.
Checkout my arm hole mate
Im glad to hear that the paleo content seems to be doing well and I look forward to them as its a subject I know quite little on and have been deep diving into learning, so more content, especially from creators like yourself that I have respect for, is always welcomed!
I really do enioy the spider content too though as theres just such little education out there on what these animals are all about. Plus the huntsman footage is always mesmerising to watch 😍
Some spiders i'd put in the same category as wolf spiders, white tail and badumna... woodlouse spider, grass spider, water spider and ground spiders
Im glad you mentioned the fake daddy long legs, or cellar spiders share that name with another group of arachnids.
Harvestmen arent spiders but are arachnids. Just...people confuse them with cellar spiders...and the myth is everywhere.
It’s one of my go-to examples as to why common names are unreliable.
@BugsandBiology took me forever to learn the real name of the daddy longlegs. Lol
People still freak out that ill gladly let em walk all over me.
I lived in Australia for 2 years. The only spider I got bite by was a huntsman sling The americans are exaggerating Spider related about Australia
Foreigners do tend to overestimate how dangerous Australian wildlife is, but I can’t really blame them for getting that impression when so many Australians share the most ridiculous stories.
@@BugsandBiology yeh
Hey! Misinformation gang...
Your pet kitten is more dangerous than a Sydney funnel web!
1. You're more likely to be scratched by kitty
2. Thus you're more likely to have adverse effects from the bacteria transferred. Now, put your kitty on a medically significant chart of death! Oh, what's that, you won't? 😒
*Goes back to play Webbed*
Solution: ALWAYS clean your wounds, whether it be from a white tail spider or a cat. XD
Black House Spiders have tiny fangs, and their bite could hardly be described as painful. Wolf spiders are slightly larger, but their bite is less painful than a bull ant sting. Neither belongs in the Painful category. Huntsman spiders have much larger fangs, so a bite would be quite painful. As mentioned though, no spider will bite a human unless it feels provoked.
Ugh, yes, this chart drives me nuts!
I also agree that not mentioning Hadronyche is a significant omission, leading to some foolishness in the other direction - somewhere here on UA-cam is a video of a fellow free-handling a female Hadronyche infensa and provoking a threat display (which is apparently not hard to do with Atracids, but still). He was apparently under the false impression that only Atrax was medically significant.
I’ve seen that video.
Admittedly, I’ve held funnel-webs a couple times as well. But doing so as roughly as he did, and implying (judging from his comment replies) that any funnel-web aside from Atrax isn’t deadly is a terrible idea.
Would you happen to have a link to the video of the person free handling Hadronyche?
I have come across this channel and now I can learn the best spider facts and not be mistaken and all that brain killing top 10 channels
Thanks!
It can be very difficult to sift through the sea of misinformation out there.
Awesome work, thank you.
Jumping spiders are the Eunsteins of all the spiders. They do PHYSICS and HETEROLOGY in their head! Anything that has an impact on the outcome e of their jump is considered. Such intelligent creatures.
This channel has given me the courage to start free-handling spiders. I don’t go out of my way looking for them and harassing them, but so far I’ve saved a couple of cellar spiders and what I think was a white-tail (but all black colouring?) from my wife’s squashing thong - hardly heroic I know, but you have to start somewhere. Long time before you’d catch me with a huntsman on my head or a golden orb crawling up my arm, but the better understanding this channel provides really does reduce the anxiety. Spiders are fascinating animals ☺️
Who better than a pest chart to make an informative poster on spiders 🙄. Honestly, good job on fixing it up and making people aware on all of this misinformation playing on peoples fears. It definitely could have fooled me a couple of years back.
I study spiders, and spent my whole childhood picking them up and prodding them. To this day I haven't been bitten once. Normally I hear of people getting bit when they roll over on a spider in bed, or when they get trapped in clothes or boots. In these cases you can't really do anything about it. Basically, if you can see a spider, it's not a threat to you lol.
P.S., is all your background spider footage from australia, or have you traveled?
I love your use of the world defensive. When I found out how big funnel webs were I was so surprised. I expected them to be one of the biggest spiders.
I would just memorize the differences because my brain is a steel trap for info on cool bugs, also I would pick them all up anyways. I would just take varying levels of caution when doings so, I own a lot of tarantulas and even my most defensive ones are really easy to deal with. Spiders are often mostly or completely blind and are not interested in biting in most cases. Spiders are really fragile and cant run very far so most spiders cant fight or flee from the average person effectively so obviously they would be scared. I mean a funnel web is just as vulnerable to a bird as any spider I imagine. Even the few species that are interested in biting dont chase, honestly I would rather be in a room full of sydney funnel webs than in a room with a moose or a bull elk or even an especially angry deer.
"Painful bite"
Funnel webs and mouse spiders can dry bite and get that title.
Nice, a spider video!
i have horrible arachniphobia from an event when i was younger but i didnt want to be scared anymore so i've decided to learn a bunch about spiders so i can logic my way out of this fear lol
im just gonna say it he has repeated random crap and he is speaking slow
I’m less scared of spiders than I used to be thanks to wonderful people like you 😊😊😊
That’s awesome!
Pretty at this point the vast majority of Australians believe Funnel Webs are only found in Sydney....Oh how very wrong you all are 😂😂😂😂
I love surprising my fellow Brisbane residents by informing them of the numerous times I’ve found funnel-webs locally.
It would be good to see your version of the spider chart available for sale. Makes a lot more sense than labelling something as deadly when it is clearly not. Cheers mate.
I do have plans on creating original spider ID charts. Just gotta do the illustrations.
@@BugsandBiology I'll keep an eye out for it. Cheers, mate.
@@BugsandBiologyI love your spider illustration drawings, they will look great on your chart.
Good job! I've personally been bitten by both the by the the Eastern Fiddleback and western Fiddleback spiders neither gave me necrotic wounds just weird red concentric circle bites and headaches that went away after a day or two - big deal.
Interesting!
Recluses do have venom that can cause necrotic effects, but it seems mild reactions like yours are far more common.
9:35: ah yes, the Pearl Self Reflecting Spider, such a beautiful and thoughtful arachnid.
She looks very wise and insightful doesn’t she?
Thanks for fixing the chart it is useful for people like me and other Australians
I'm quite surprised that Illawarra is mentioned on the chart but Illawarra Wisharti wasn't featured. I was of the impression that Wisharti has a venom profile similar to Atrax Robustus, so you'd think that it should've at least have been on the chart, if not the medically significant category then at least potentially painful bite - venomous one.
I’ll be honest, I forgot all about that genus too.
Admittedly, it is very obscure and seldom encountered compared to Atrax and Hadronyche.
Yeah as far as I'm aware it's the only spider of the genus Illawarra. Keep up the great work on your channel. I always look forward to watching your uploads and am a big fan of your dry sense of humour. And your knowledge is awe inspiring for someone of your age.
I thought wolf spiders would be in the lower category with huntsmans.
Like I said in the video, the line between “painful bite” and “low risk” is very blurry, to the point where I’d say the only two categories necessary are “medically significant” and “low risk”.
The white little spider looks like a grumpy old man 🫶🏻
New subscriber here - I love spiders.
It should also be worth noting which spiders are dangerous to pets. Spiders that are harmless to humans may be deadly to dogs and cats. That is not something that should be ignored.
There aren’t really many cases of this. Australian tarantulas are the only noteworthy example, and they’re not present in the region/s this chart was made for.
Is it true that some of the tree dwelling funnel webs have more toxic venom than the Sydney Funnel Web?
I’m not sure when it comes to drop-for-drop potency, but they could definitely inflict a greater quantity of venom in a bite, and do seem to have a higher rate of severe envenomation.
i found this chart an it baffled me
I'd like to see you take a bite from some medically significant spiders!
For what purpose exactly?
Pls make a chart to download/buy for us less informed to use as reference.
I do plan to. Just don’t get on the edge of your seat waiting for me to stop procrastinating.
Another great video mate 😊
🕷Great job!
Thanks Ambrose!
Still gotta see how our footage turned out.
Used to have that in my yard
This chart is iconic. Lol. I do love the fact it uses illustrations rather than photos.
Oh and any chance you'd consider putting the Badge Huntsman to the bite test? I'm genuinely curious to know if it really is unique amongst huntsmans in that regard:
"has a bite that’s known to produce more unpleasant symptoms, including severe localised pain and swelling at the bite site, accompanied by sweating, nausea and vomiting." -Australian Geographic
Thanks for all this info. My wife was bitten on the side of her foot by a White-tailed spider and it was painful for about six months.
What spider is at 3:00? We just saw one outside our house
Heteropoda jugulans
might want to edit 0:19
That was a deliberate, albeit rather obscure reference to a moment on Taskmaster.
In essence, “Shid” is “Shed” pronounced in a New Zealand accent.
On Taskmaster, one contestant from NZ brought in the fish poster I mentioned, saying it could be found in every shed. And the show’s host briefly mocked her pronunciation of the word.
@@BugsandBiologyit’s similar to the way the say fesh and cheps instead of fish and chips
i like to imagine if huntsman spiders could speak they would be british
Great, now I can’t get that idea out of my head.
@@BugsandBiology idk it must be the chelicerae looking like a moustache and the 4 eyes arranged in a row makes huntsman spiders look more goofy then scary
Great episode ! simple
Great work.
The spider with the red was beautiful.
Indeed!
That was a Nicodamus species
Why are tarantulas not included? Outside of Australia, we say that Australian tarantulas have a quite strong venom.
This chart is for the Sydney area, where no tarantulas are present outside captivity.
And Australian tarantulas aren’t all that venomous, especially when compared to Asian/African ones.
Definitely had that poster on my fridge in the 90s.
Hey mate, this is the exact chart/advertisement I was complaining about that list white-tails as "deadly" on one of your previous vid's! Good on ya for referencing it. The "venomous" listing is hilariously dumb... What a joke of a poster.
It’s worse when you see just how many people will share this poster and present it as reliable info.
Awesome footage
3:00 what spider is that?
Heteropoda jugulans
Very good.
I always enjoy your content. Intelligent, informative and normally sprinkled with an undercurrent of sarcastic, dry wit. 😂
Why thank you!
You’re doing a great job spreading important information about our 8 legged neighbors.
Thanks!
Definitely feels like an uphill battle at times.
Another great video from the master. Cheers!!
Another amazing upload from you Jackson. Love ya vids alot. Keep it up. Also one thing. As you said with the atrax spurs not being a distinct feature to them and being on Multiple spiders, wishbone spider also have this and are oftenly confused with them as they have some very similar qualities too, so the spurr thung as you said should definitely not be something to be used to id a funnelweb. Feel like they should tell ppl about this and them more.
Yeah definitely. Can lead to other spiders being misidentified as funnel-webs, vice versa.
Honestly there’s a fair few false/unreliable ID features that people often cite when it comes to funnel-webs. Like black colouration and pronounced spinnerets.
@@BugsandBiology yes definitely
This is extraordinary! So glad to see you back!
I am regrettably a big procrastinator.
Like, I’ll spend weeks overthinking a video, only to have it done and dusted within a couple hours.
How the arm
Been completely recovered for ages.
That's good coz I think I got bite
Thank you! I always enjoy hearing your informed commentary.
I'd probably title the categories as "Life Threatening" (maybe a bonus inclusion of "Life Altering"). Then "Damaging" including ones that can cause either serious pain or long term visible effects. And then Low/No risk
As a Canadian there isn't a single spider I fear handling. Maybe our big ass dock spiders, but that's more the dinner plate sized legs and one inch fangs then any venom.
I'm very lucky lol
Cellar spiders should get their own category (i don't know if this applies to Australia as you guys have some enormous, (to this Englishman) sized spiders compared to us Brits? But i always tell my mum to leave them on the proviso that they hunt other spiders. A spindly leggy fella sat where the wall meets the ceiling as a place to set up shop being the mark of a very well mannered spider imo, the fact they interdict others by eating them being a bonus. So i suggest "helpful". And whilst some might be dangerous, surely the average gardener, (who's not an arachnaphobe) finds most of them helpful for eating garden pests? Its all perspective, unfortunately spiders have been given rather bad press officers in that regard, excepting yourself of course.