A threat of violence with an unwilling weapon

Time for an odd little splash of spider news. This story comes from Florida which shouldn't surprise anyone who listens to What The Crime?, one of my recommended podcasts.

A woman was threatened by a man with whom she had “been hanging out with”, claiming that he was going to tie up her family and kill them with a brown recluse spider. Let's move past the part where this man was recently released from prison, has multiple personalities, and is still at large. Let's instead focus on the absurdity of his threat. I do not mean to trivialize the reality of your family's lives being threatened by an unstable person, but, seriously? Seriously.

http://spiders.ucr.edu/images/Is_or_Isn't_recluse_files/Spider1.jpg

Let's assume that this man could, somehow, get the woman's family tied up. The story is short on details, but perhaps she has a sister, two kids, a pet weasel, and an uncle who once had a bit part as a rodeo clown in a community college theater production called Clownin' Around. So, you know, a regular family. Would the man lure the whole family to one place, so that they could all be tied up in a short period of time? Or would he go door-to-door, tying up each person in turn? If the former, what impetus would there be for the uncle and the weasel to reunite after...the incident? If the latter, what are the odds one person could get away with it all? I seem to have gotten off track here...

http://news.usm.edu/sites/default/files/imagecache/article_portrait/LECILE-HEADSHOT.jpg

Anyway, they're all tied up and he has a brown recluse spider. Time for the killing. But wait!.Where did he even get the spider? Brown recluses (Loxosceles reclusa) are not native to Florida, and have established in only a few isolated pockets due to accidental human introductions. There were even nation-wide and Okaloosa County-specific challenges for people to send in brown recluses they found. Despite several hundred specimens being sent in, not one was a brown recluse. In fact, in the 100-year record of spiders in the Florida, only 70 recluses (including other Loxosceles species) were documented. Interestingly, a 6-year record of spider bite reports to poison control centers registered 844 supposed brown recluse bites. That's 141 purported bites per year from less than one spider per year. Do the math: either there are a few rampaging, serially biting maniac spiders on the loose in Florida, or people have no idea what they are talking about and instead demonize a nearly non-existent creature for their assorted maladies.

Back on track with the story: the man has procured his spider and is ready to do the deed. How is this going to work? Spiders only have so much venom, so it's not like he could get everyone at once. Sure, he could do them one at a time, resting the spider in between to give it time to recuperate. But does this man plan so far in advance? I think not. Even if bitten, our best data suggest the odds of death (from systemic loxoscelism) are far less than 1%. Most verified bites have no real effect (a little swelling, itching), and any damage tends to be mild and heal on its own quickly. If this is the case (and it is), then why would one view death by brown recluse bite as a plausible way to do away with a woman's family? The rare effects of bites (horrific dermonecrotic lesions and death from systemic loxoscelism) naturally get more attention from the media and medical communities, biasing the public's understanding of risk (or lack thereof). The vast majority of bites, causing little to no meaningful symptoms, will not be reported, so our perception of danger from this spider is highly skewed.

Plus, the plan to kill the weasel is probably completely misguided. Pets are unlikely to receive a bite from a brown recluse (or any other spider). Being covered in dense fur helps, as does the inclination to play with and/or kill spiders discovered in the home. Furthermore, not all species react the same way to recluse venom. Dogs do not develop systemic loxoscelism, and only show symptoms for a few days after being injected in a vein. Bites are unlikely to penetrate beyond the skin, so this whole plan is falling apart faster than a weasel riding a woodpecker.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RKY2d1w6aXo/hqdefault.jpg

If you are interested in learning more about this fascinating creature, I cannot over-recommend Rick Vetter's recent comprehensive book: The Brown Recluse Spider for the low-down on what we actually know about this species.