Poisonous spiders more and more common in Europe: These species are particularly dangerous
Created: 07/28/2022, 08:01
By: Olaf Kubasik
Poisonous spiders are spreading more and more in Europe because of climate change and globalization.
There are also animals that can be dangerous for humans.
Frail people should be very brave now.
Especially those who have a primal fear of spiders.
Because according to a study by Bernese scientists from 2007, a new spider species settles in Europe every two years due to global trade.
According to scinexx.de
, these spiders are not only larger than native ones, but also prefer buildings.
And: Because of the simultaneous climate warming, subtropical species could soon follow, as
echo24.de
reports.
The establishment of new spider species in Europe has accelerated immensely since the study was published.
With the Ammen-Dornfinger, a representative first found a home in Germany, which is able to penetrate the human skin with its biting tools.
And there are more to come!
In the meantime, curled-hunting spiders are spreading extremely in the south-west of the republic.
The South Russian tarantula is meanwhile conquering other areas in Central Europe and is about to jump to us.
class | Arachnids (arachnida) |
species | around 100,000 |
subtribe | Jaw-clawed (Chelicerata) |
Representative | Spiders, harvestmen, scorpions, pseudoscorpions, mites, ticks |
Poisonous spiders are conquering Europe: climate change favors the spread of invasive species
But these new poisonous spider species will not remain in Europe sooner or later.
swissinfo.ch
refers to Wolfgang Nentwig.
The professor of zoology in Bern and co-author of the study, which has now come true, explains: "It can be expected that climate change in Europe will create more and more suitable habitat for subtropical spiders." This is also proven by the local occurrence of these eight species, which humans better get out of the way.
Quite deadly species such as the noble orb spider are already causing fear and terror in Great Britain.
And especially the animals of the genus
Loxosceles
that decompose human tissue with their bite .
For the time being still in Southern Europe.
But at least the brown violin spider and the brown recluse spider seem to soon find another new home in Germany due to the fatal combination of climate warming and globalization.
Invasive poisonous spiders: Increasingly dangerous for people in Europe due to global warming
And there is another study that brings terrifying things to light!
Because Canadian researchers have observed spider colonies along the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico and the US Atlantic coast.
Due to the increasing global warming, extreme weather conditions prevail there.
The author of the study summarizes to
mdr.de
the greater reproduction and higher aggressiveness - caused by storm disasters - for actually harmless eight-legged friends like
Anelosimus studiosus
together:
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Aggressiveness is passed down through generations in these colonies, from parents to daughters.
This is an essential factor in their survival and ability to reproduce.
Evolutionary biologist Jonathan Pruitt
The spread is already promoted by the climate warming of stressed poisonous spider species through global trade routes.
Large representatives have an advantage because they are more resistant to stress factors such as long freight journeys.
In Germany, thanks to the import of bananas, four spiders keep popping up in supermarkets - one of which, by the way, is the deadliest spider in the world.
From spiders to shrews: the 10 most poisonous animals in Germany
View photo gallery
For the near future, the Bern research team had already predicted “the colonization of at least one foreign spider species per year in Europe”.
Since then, the researchers have not found any poisonous species that are dangerous to humans, such as the black widow or the Australian
atrax
, among the immigrants.
But: "But that could change in the future: It is to be expected that climate change in Europe will create more and more suitable habitat for subtropical spiders."