Re: creatures encountered on a stalk
Okay here is a little guide to help some of ya'll avoid these bitches. I'll be putting more up almost daily.
<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">The Black Widow</span></span>
<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Where are they located?</span></span>
These little mother fuckers Live in warm areas of the world. Mainly in North America.
The only type of widow you need to worry about is the female. She is about a half inch in length and 1-3" in span. She has a glossy abdomen. The tell tale sign of a widow is the red hour glass on her stomach.
They are commonly found in urban areas, grasslands and in forests.
Their habitat is on the underside of ledges, rocks, plants and debris, wherever a web can be strung. Cold weather and drought may drive these spiders into buildings.
They are not particularly deadly to humans but they are not fun to be bit by. They have a venom that will paralyze their prey and they release enzymes that will make your skin into soup so that they can suck you up with there mouth easier. They are not deadly cause they release such a small amount of venom.
These little fuckers will not chase you, and they are very reclusive. Often times they will not bite unless you walk through their web or you touch them.
<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Fun facts!</span></span>
After these things mate they eat their mate. When they spiders hatch from their eggs the widow often eats most of her babies. The widow will eat other widows as well.
<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">The brown recluse</span></span>
Here is a map of approximately where they brown recluse is located. The black dots are location of various sniper schools. (If there are any that I left out please tell me and I will put them up)
<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Identifying the recluse</span></span>
In the mature brown recluse spider as well as some other species of recluse spiders, the dark violin marking is well defined, with the neck of the violin pointing toward the bulbous abdomen. The abdomen is uniformly colored, although the coloration can range from light tan to dark brown, and is covered with numerous fine hairs that provide a velvety appearance. The long, thin, brown legs also are covered with fine hairs, but not spines. Adult brown recluse spiders have a leg span about the size of a quarter. Their body is about 3/8 inches long and about 3/16 inches wide. Males are slightly smaller in body length than females, but males have proportionally longer legs. Both sexes are venomous. The immature stages closely resemble the adults except for size and a slightly lighter color. Whereas most spiders have eight eyes, recluse spiders have six eyes that are arranged in pairs in a semicircle on the forepart of the cephalothorax
<span style="font-weight: bold">
<span style="text-decoration: underline">Habitat</span></span>
The brown recluse spider spins a loose, irregular web of very sticky, off-white to grayish threads. This web serves as the spider's daytime retreat, and it often is constructed in an undisturbed corner. This spider roams at night searching for insect prey. Recent research at the University of Kansas indicates that the brown recluse spider is largely a scavenger, preferring dead insects. Mature males also roam in search of females.
Brown recluse spiders generally occupy dark, undisturbed sites, and they can occur indoors or outdoors. In favorable habitats, their populations are usually dense. They thrive in human-altered environments. Indoors, they may be found in attics, basements, crawl spaces, cellars, closets, and ductwork or registers. They may seek shelter in storage boxes, shoes, clothing, folded linens, and behind furniture. They also may be found in outbuildings such as barns, storage sheds, and garages. Outdoors, brown recluse spiders may be found underneath logs, loose stones in rock piles, and stacks of lumber.
<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Bite Symptoms</span></span>
The physical reaction to a brown recluse spider bite depends on the amount of venom injected and an individual's sensitivity to it. Some people are unaffected by a bite, whereas others experience immediate or delayed effects as the venom kills the tissues (necrosis) at the site of the bite. Many brown recluse bites cause just a little red mark that heals without event. The vast majority of brown recluse bites heal without severe scarring.
Initially, the bite may feel like a pinprick or go unnoticed. Some may not be aware of the bite for 2 to 8 hours. Others feel a stinging sensation followed by intense pain. Infrequently, some victims experience general systemic reactions that may include restlessness, generalized itching, fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, or shock. A small white blister usually initially rises at the bite site surrounded by a swollen area. The affected area enlarges and becomes red, and the tissue is hard to the touch for some time. The lesion from a brown recluse spider bite is a dry, blue-gray or blue-white, irregular sinking patch with ragged edges and surrounding redness--termed the "red, white, and blue sign." The lesion usually is 1½ inches by 2¾ inches or smaller.
The bite of the brown recluse spider can result in a painful, deep wound that takes a long time to heal. Fatalities are extremely rare, but bites are most dangerous to young children, the elderly, and those in poor physical condition. When there is a severe reaction to the bite, the site can erupt into a "volcano lesion" (a hole in the flesh due to damaged, gangrenous tissue). The open wound may range from the size of an adult's thumbnail to the span of a hand. The dead tissue gradually sloughs away, exposing underlying tissues. The sunken, ulcerating sore may heal slowly up to 6 to 8 weeks. Full recovery may take several months and scarring may remain.
<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">First aid</span></span>
If bitten, remain calm, and immediately seek medical attention (contact your physician, hospital and/or poison control center). Apply an ice pack directly to the bite area to relieve swelling and pain. Collect the spider (even a mangled specimen has diagnostic value), if possible, for positive identification by a spider expert. A plastic bag, small jar, or pill vial is useful and no preservative is necessary, but rubbing alcohol helps to preserve the spider.
An effective commercial antivenin is not available. The surgical removal of tissue was once standard procedure, but now this is thought to slow down wound healing. Some physicians administer high doses of cortisone-type hormones to combat hemolysis and other systemic complications. Treatment with oral dapsone (an antibiotic used mainly for leprosy) has been suggested to reduce the degree of tissue damage. However, an effective therapy has not yet been found in controlled studies.
<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Giant Centipedes</span></span>
<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Habitat</span></span>
Luckily these things do not live in North America. They live in south america, trinidad and Jamica.
<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">dangers</span></span>
The venom of these things cannot kill a human adult. However it will hurt like hell.
Look here for some more info
<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Wolverine</span></span>
As you can see the wolverine lives in canada, russia, and parts of america. There is a very small population of Wolverines on this planet.
That is about all I can find because the rest of the stuff if about X-men.