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I haven't seen a spider eat a snake, but it's fairly common knowledge here in Australia if you find a lot of dead skinks [0] (a lizard) around you have Redback

I haven't seen a spider eat a snake, but it's fairly common knowledge here in Australia if you find a lot of dead skinks [0] (a lizard) around you have Redback spiders. The skink is many times larger than the spider. Our Redbacks look similar to the USA Black Widow, and like the Black Window displays the sexual cannibalism while mating behaviour. And surprise surprise, the article says 80% of the spiders that eat snakes live in Australia or the USA. One notable difference between the two is that, unlike the USA Back Window, a bite from an Australian Redback can and has killed people. You will hear Australian's refer in a joking tone about the Redback under the toilet seat. Don't be fooled by the tone. It isn't a joke. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_garden_skink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_garden_skink [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider

thaumasiotes 5y ago
> One notable difference between the two is that, unlike the USA Back Window, a bite from an Australian Redback can and has killed people. How is that "unlike the USA black widow"? Wikipedia suggests they are more or less identical: > The venom of the redback spider is thought to be similar to that of the other Latrodectus spiders. > According to NSW Health, redback spider bites were considered not life-threatening > In 2016, the death of a bushwalker from a redback spider bite was widely reported. Apart from that, there have been no deaths due to redback bite since the introduction of antivenom. Compare > In historical literature, fatalities were reported at anywhere between 0.5% and 12%,[2] but studies within the past several decades have been unable to confirm any fatalities from this or any of the other U.S. species of Latrodectus (e.g. zero fatalities among 23,409 documented Latrodectus bites from 2000 through 2008). ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus_hesperus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus_hesperus ) > In the United States, no deaths due to black widows have been reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers since 1983. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus ) > Deaths from the Western Black Widow had been reported as 50/1000 in the 1920s. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus_mactans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus_mactans ) These articles all seem to agree that (1) Australian latrodectus and American latrodectus are similarly threatening; (2) the risk of death is significant if treatment is not available; (3) there is no significant risk of death when treatment is available.
edgyquant 5y ago
Black Widows are also deadly. They live in woodpiles where I’m from and every year there’s someone who gets bit and is rushed to the ER. They don’t kill instantly but you can die within a day or so (especially children) if not treated.

thaumasiotes 5y ago

> One notable difference between the two is that, unlike the USA Back Window, a bite from an Australian Redback can and has killed people. How is that "unlike the USA black widow"? Wikipedia suggests they are more or less identical: > The venom of the redback spider is thought to be similar to that of the other Latrodectus spiders. > According to NSW Health, redback spider bites were considered not life-threatening > In 2016, the death of a bushwalker from a redback spider bite was widely reported. Apart from that, there have been no deaths due to redback bite since the introduction of antivenom. Compare > In historical literature, fatalities were reported at anywhere between 0.5% and 12%,[2] but studies within the past several decades have been unable to confirm any fatalities from this or any of the other U.S. species of Latrodectus (e.g. zero fatalities among 23,409 documented Latrodectus bites from 2000 through 2008). ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus_hesperus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus_hesperus ) > In the United States, no deaths due to black widows have been reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers since 1983. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus ) > Deaths from the Western Black Widow had been reported as 50/1000 in the 1920s. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus_mactans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus_mactans ) These articles all seem to agree that (1) Australian latrodectus and American latrodectus are similarly threatening; (2) the risk of death is significant if treatment is not available; (3) there is no significant risk of death when treatment is available.

edgyquant 5y ago

Black Widows are also deadly. They live in woodpiles where I’m from and every year there’s someone who gets bit and is rushed to the ER. They don’t kill instantly but you can die within a day or so (especially children) if not treated.