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Yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia) adult female Report and Photographs Courtesy of Maxine DM, Tyler, Texas, 15 July 2007 Editor's Notes by Jerry Cates
Maxine Wrote: Jerry--I found
this in my backyard this morning. It has made its home between two dead
mimosa trees. I don’t know what type of spider it is, and I really don’t
think I’ve seen one before.
Editor's Notes: Maxine is a good photographer, and evidently has a good camera to boot. Of course, the yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia) is also quite photogenic. We should expect to see this species in great numbers this year, owing to all the rainfall we've had. That rainfall has set the stage for large numbers of flying insects, like crickets and grasshoppers, to emerge during the summer and early fall months. They will then feed these spiders in such bounty that they will likely become quite large. Many thanks to Maxine for this excellent photo!!! ---------------------------------------------- Please contact us about your personal experiences, if you have been bitten by a brown recluse, black widow, or any other spider, including jumping spiders and garden spiders (the bites of which typically produce a transitory inflammation, but resolve within a few days without medical attention), whether recently or in the past thirty years, anywhere in the world. For example, the bite of a species of garden spider, the golden orb spider of Australia [Nephila edulis] typically is unremarkable, but on occasion produces medically significant secondary infections; the frequency and nature of bites experienced from that species of spider is also a part of this study. One object of this study is to collect data that might relate to a mysterious series of spider-related infections, involving a special pathogen, that took place in the United States and in Australia between 1977 and 2006. Although only fifteen such infections were reported to medical establishments, seven appear to be associated with spider bites. Some authorities suggest that the number of actual infections of this type that occurred in the U.S. and Australia during the past thirty years is much larger, but that they have been underreported. Underreporting of specific kinds of infections can occur, either because the persons infected chose not to seek medical assistance, or the medical establishments misdiagnosed the infections as being caused by other infectious agents. We are seeking to establish an estimate of the number of human spider bites that occur each year by these and similar spiders, whether the bite resulted in injury to the human or not. Next, we hope to establish the number of instances where the bite (1) became inflamed and/or infected, then resolved without medical intervention, or (2) infected, ulcerated, or led to a generalized sickness, and required medical intervention. ---------------------------------------------- Back to: Texas Spiders Back to: Bugsinthenews |
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