A recent study from the University of Galwai in Ireland discussed the secret of the great contrast between the power of the poison of spiders, which could contribute to the development of new insecticides or pesticides.
For example, the Brazilian spider sting can lead to dangerous medical complications, while giant home spider poison usually does not pose any danger to humans, which raises the question: What drives these differences in the power of poison?
Diet
According to the study Which was published in the journal “Biological Litters”, the researchers analyzed toxins more than 70 types of spiders, and they were discovered that it was possible for factors such as body size, type of prey, fishing method, and window use, to explain the great contrast in the power of poison.
The researchers have found that the power of poison depends mainly on the diet, which is one of the most important factors affecting the strength of the spider venom.
On the other hand, spiders that hunt small mammals, such as black widow spider or roaming Brazilian spider, are very strong and may affect humans as well.
Network effect
The researchers expected that spiders that use networks to hunt their prey may depend on the poison less, and then their poison is less powerful, but the results showed that there is no clear relationship between the use of the network and the power of poison, which indicates that the network is used to restrict the prey, regardless of the power of poison.
Understanding how to evolve the toxins of spiders helps scientists in multiple areas, such as developing new drugs or pesticides that target certain types of pests without harming useful organisms, and also helps in predicting any types of spiders that may become invasive in new environments.
Besides, these results help develop scientists understanding to adapt species to their various environments.