We've just released The Hungry Spider, by Patsy Web.
The Hungry Spider is a very naughty spider. He doesn´t like spider food, he likes all the food that children love to eat and he is always very, very hungry. On a sunny day, Maria, Lola and Eva go to the park for a picnic. The Hungry Spider is very happy to see the children in the park with a picnic. This book contains a word search to memorise words, together with Spider Stickers for a child to decide as to where they think the Hungry Spider is now.
Today we looked at the star of this delightful children's book, and visited some of his less friendly brothers and sisters. Here's 5 spiders you definitely do not want to meet.
Brown Recluse Spider
Fiddle backs or Violin spiders, they’re only found in the USA, and they’re pretty small. But, for their size they can really do some damage. Only 10% have a bad reaction, however, this bad reaction can cause a gangrenous bite the size of someone’s hand.
The Redback Spider
They look just like the black widow, though they're about the size of a pea. They’re rarely fatal but can cause some nasty side effects like nausea and faint spells, but the anti venom works well.
Brazilian Wandering Spider
They’re around 5 inches long. Unlike most spiders they don’t actually hunt via webs or traps. They hunt on the floors and attack, making them very aggressive - though rarely to humans. Side effects include sweating, muscle spasms, impotence and paralysis, that being said only around 2% need anti-venom due to the amount of venom they secrete.
The Black Widow
Very famous, and for good reason. Found in many hot countries, the females are the ones to watch out for, twice as big as the male (which they will eat after mating) they venom is 15 times stronger than some rattlesnakes, so its important to get instant medical attention.
The brown widow spider is actually more dangerous in terms of its bite though they are far less likley to bite being more shy.
The Sydney Funnel Web
Found only in Australia. They build their webs on the ground and jump out of their nest and drag their pray down once their web is triggered. This is a scary looking spider- 2-4 inches long, the bigger the spider the worse the venom. The venom effects the nerve system, its very painful, causes numbness, effected breathing, but when given an anti venom, victims are usually okay.
