Which of the following statements are false?
- Spiders are insects.
- “Arachnid” is just a fancy name for spider.
- You can always tell a spider because it has eight legs.
- All spiders make webs.
- The orb web (round or “geometric” web) is a “normal” spider web.
- A “daddy-longlegs” is a kind of spider.
- Most spiders could not bite humans because their fangs are too small.
- Any spider species can be found anywhere.
- All spiders are male.
- Spiders are most numerous in late summer.
- You are never more than three feet from a spider.
- Spiders “suck the juices” of their prey, and do not literally eat it.
- Spiders don’t stick to their own webs because their feet are oily.
- Spiders are easy to identify.
- Spider species are distinguished and identified by “markings.”
- The size of spiders should be described in terms of coins.
- A photo that “looks just like” your spider identifies it.
- Physicians, exterminators, and entomologists can identify spiders.
- Spider specimens can be mailed with a letter in a common envelope.
- The spider you found has to be a species you’ve already heard of.
- “Since I can’t tell what this spider is, it must be new and probably dangerous.”
- One specimen is enough of a sample to tell what spiders live in a house.
- Spiders come into houses in the fall to get out of the cold.
- House spiders should be put “back outside.”
- Spiders in bathtubs or sinks came up through the drains from sewers.
- “Those large, hairy spiders I find in my house are wolf spiders.”
- Spiders in the home are a danger to children and pets.
- The daddy-longlegs has the world’s worst venom, but it can’t bite you.
- Doctors can always tell what spider bit you from the bite alone.
- Any spider ever even suspected of being dangerous, is.
- A potted cactus in someone’s home exploded and scattered baby tarantulas!
- A deadly, exotic spider lurks under airport and airplane toilet seats.
- A gigantic, rare, endangered and (of course) deadly spider lives in tunnels under Windsor Castle.
- Spiders can hold their breaths to avoid inhaling pesticides.
- You swallow an average of four live spiders in your sleep each year.
- Spiders drink moisture from the mouths or lips of sleeping humans.
- When black widow spiders mate, the female always kills and eats the male.
- Spider eggs may turn up in human hairstyles or in bubble gum.
- There could be spider eggs inside the tip of that banana.
- Baby spiders can hatch out of spider bite wounds.
- Certain fruits or nuts can be used to repel spiders.
- “A spider bit me while I was asleep.” (No, I didn’t see it, but…)
- “How could insects be biting me? I see only spiders in the house!”
- You can always tell a spider bite because a spider leaves 2 punctures.
- Some spiders are poisonous and others are not.
- Tarantulas are dangerous or deadly to humans.
- Some spiders are deadly.
- But there are really deadly spiders in Australia and Brazil.
- “The dreaded Brown Recluse spider has bitten people in my area!”
- You can identify “brown recluse” spiders by a violin shape.
- Spiders carry germs on their fangs that can cause infection.
- People have lost arms and legs because of spider bites.
- Spider “infestations” should be controlled with pesticides.
According to Rod Crawford, Curator of Arachnids, Burke Museum all of the above are false. For more information, go to: www.burkemuseum.org/spidermyth
Happy Halloween!!!
