Paraguay is home to a great variety of wildlife much of which appeals to everyone. However it is probably fair to say that it might not be a comfortable place for those with concerns about eight legged creatures.
Almost everywhere one looks in Paraguay spiders are to be seen. These range from the very smallest right up to large tarantulas, and from the harmless to the deadly.
There are web building orb spiders, spiders that string lines between trees like fishing lines, funnel spiders with their dense webs leading down into their lairs and many others that build no webs at all.
Orb spiders build their large webs amongst the trees and vegetation and then settle down to await the arrival of their prey. As with all orb spiders these are intricate pieces of art which glisten in the morning dew and are replaced and rebuilt as often as necessary.
The sticky stands of silk produced by those spiders who use it cast a line and move from place to place is also quickly rebuilt. The silk produced by these spiders is generally very strong and very sticky. Once brushed against it can be difficult to remove from arms, hair and face.
In contrast to those webs and strands the web spun by a funnel spider is a much more permanent structure. A dense mat of web extends around the enterance to it’s nest from the center of which a thick funnel of web extends downwards to where the spider awaits it’s prey. These are solid permanent webs which can remain visable long after the spider has departed.
These spiders all rely to a great degree upon their prey coming to them. Others though have done away with webs and instead far more activly hunt and ambush prey.
One class of spider that hunts in this way is the jumping spider. These are small harmless spiders which are often colourfully patterned. As their name suggests they hunt by surprising prey as they jump upon it from a far. They are able to travel considerable distances in this way and hunt unseen by their prey.
Another type of fast moving, webless spider is the flat spider or flattie. These shoot across wall at a great velocity and are able to turn upon and trap an insect far quicker than anything could ever attempt to react and escape. These flat spiders grow to a size several centimetres across and although I don’t know how true it is I have been told they can dish out a painful flesh rotting bite.
They are of course not the only spiders that pack a nasty bite. There are several that have a painful bite with enough venom to leave a very painful sore which may remain inflamed for many days.
Then there others, fortunatly much rarer that can deliver enough poison to kill. The best known of these is the Black Widow whos distinct black and red markings tell all to keep clear.
These are just a very small selection of the spiders that can be seen everyday.
Above these the grandest of them all is the tarantula. A large hairy ambush preditor that relys on size and strength rather than a deadly poison to hunt down prey. They live in large underground nests from which they head forth in search of a meal. It is not for there venom they are disliked but for their size, as large as an adults hand and their covering of thick black hair.
Now after writing this I shall not be at all surprised if later today I encounter some medium sized spider the like of which I have never seen before. A common occurrence in these parts.
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