Pennsylvania’s Poisonous Wild Pt. 4: Black Widow
Posted on November 5th, 2008 in future reference biology, black widow, future reference, horror, poison, spiders, wild
There are also Black Widow’s in this state. The black widow of PA is the Latrodectus variolus, and thus its venom causes latrodectism – muscle pains and very powerful muscle spasming and cramping, first localized and then all over once the venom hits the bloodstream. Although the venom is more potent than many other animals, like the cobra and coral snake, its a tiny spider so there’s not a lot of the venom. Generally, only 5% of bites result in fatality. Apparently the southern black widow practices sexual cannibalism, but fortunately for their northern counterparts, sex is much less kinky here up north.
There’s also a whole bunch of poisonous plants in Pennsylvania. I don’t even know what poison ivy looks like, so I’m totally unprepared for this.
If the world is a family, and the plants and animals our brothers and sisters – well, we’re definitely one of the scrawnier (albeit brainier) siblings. What’s important is not to be annoying and get in their way, otherwise we’ll get beat up. Hey, kids can be vicious.
And its not entirely unfair: the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake was slaughtered in the turn of the century, when Milwaukee was expanding, and a bounty was given for their extermination. And I’ve never been one to agree with slaughtering wolves and bears just because we’ve taken over their land to farm and expand and they’ve had the misfortune to get caught in our “progress”.
November 6th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
what got you on this poisonous animal kick? too much election coverage pushed you over the edge?
November 11th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
i spent like 2 hours one day reading about this stuff. in the end what i wrote of it turned out to be too long, so i split it.
this way my blog doesn’t have to wither like it does while i’m in the throes of another game addiction…. Fallout 2 is the king of games… seriously, the amount of guns, booze, zombies and gambling – not to mention (post-)apocalyptic “fallout” humor – ohhh, wonderful. I’m having a blast.
I have to put “reduce video games” back on my todo list tho… I crossed it off, but I i fell off the wagon.
Last night I couldn’t sleep cause I was in the casino playing craps. A virtual casino. For virtual money.
My life is virtually pathetic.
And I’m still not done convincing Jenn that money is easy to get through gambling, and we should go to Atlantic City with the winning strategy I developed. She’s not convinced.
November 12th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
dan has been playing call of duty, the new one. he got to be one of the people to test it i guess. it’s funny because it has keifer sutherland’s voice in it.
dan has to put “reduce video games” on his list of things to do, too. along with “grad school applications” and “find a job.”
you might feel virtually pathetic playing virtual casino, but at least you’re playing for virtual money. there are plenty of services out there where you can play for real money. those things seem like a disaster waiting to happen.
my friend said once that her sister tried to get through a year by supporting herself by gambling. at the end of the year she had to file for bankruptcy. so i guess that based on my knowledge of people who try to support themselves from gambling, i would say that this is not a good idea.
i am, though, in the process of looking for another get rich quick scheme. i’ll let you know what i come up with.
November 16th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
hahaha. that’s fantastic.
“my friend said once that her sister tried to get through a year by supporting herself by gambling. at the end of the year she had to file for bankruptcy.”
It was so good i felt the need to quote it. Right after you said it.
OK, so Las Vegas and Ocean City is out.
November 18th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
yeah, i mean given the odds, i think you might be better off turning to a life of crime.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:29 am
Piracy is a booming business in Somalia now-a-days. I’ve always wanted to be a pirate.
November 24th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
i heard a story on the radio the other day about people turning to piracy in indonesia… apparently tons of people do it because they can’t get jobs, but you actually don’t make a very good living as an indonesian pirate. then, any money that you actually get you end up spending half of it showing your pirate buddies a good time at the bar/strip club/whore house.
yo ho, a pirate’s life indeed.