Colorado Spiders
A Few Points On Colorado Spiders
An increasing number of misdiagnosed spider bites have begun to shake up the resident scientists of Colorado. Spiders in this harsh region vary greatly from species to species, but venomous arachnids of any type are not indigenes to Colorado. Spiders who bare venom which is considered harmful and potentially deadly to some humans are not readily equipped for survival here, and their natural evolutionary processes will not find them suited any time soon. The minute number of venomous spider specimens collected in this state indicates strongly that these few spiders were transported by visitors from infested regions to the south.
Most spiders indigenes to the harsh climatic regions of the upper United States are similar across the board, with the exception of both Washington and Oregon who have been blessed with the forced migration of the venomous hobo spider. He showed up on a freight from Europe in the form of a fertile egg sack in the early 1930’s, and has since adapted and spread throughout the northwest tip of the country. Though scientists are working diligently to predict the hobo spiders projected infestation rate, this migration in no way affects Colorado. Spiders of the recluse family are the only venomous specimens to be collected in Colorado to date, of which there have only been 5 spanning three decades.
Common Colorado spiders include a great variety of jumping spiders, whose fangs are not strong enough to penetrate even the top layer of the human epidermis. They range in size from miniscule to medium, and offer themselves in nearly every primary, secondary, and compound color imaginable. These spiders are harmless, if not a little bit creepy. They do jump, some of them up to 7 feet, and they spin fine, colorless silk.
Daddy Longlegs are among the most common Colorado spiders, as are the many varieties of the crab family. The first of these may not need much description, but a short run through the facts may be an interesting turn. Falsely rumored to make the most potent protein based venom of any arachnid, Daddy Longlegs create trace amounts of venom which is not as potent as that of the black widow. His most complex diversion and escape technique is the voluntary detachment of his limbs. If one or two are stuck, he will simply shed them and move along. The crab varieties of spider are capable of shallow bites which are virtually undetectable at the onset, and may take on a mild itch which dissipates within hours.
Orb weavers round out the bulk of the population of Colorado spiders, though some recent spikes in arachnid population, however harmless, are being monitored closely by biologists and scientists in this region.