Desert Myths

A Quick Sojourn to the Southwest

Happy New Year to all. Wishing everyone a safe and healthy 2023 filled with family, friends, good meals, and good laughs.

We were supposed to go to Tucson for the holidays but the freezing rain in Seattle kiboshed that plan so we stayed put. Thinking about the desert though reminded me of a curious aspect of my former life in Moab, Utah.

During my years as a National Park ranger at Arches NP, I was amazed at the number of people concerned about an attack on their trip to the desert. They seemed to believe that behind every shrub, under every rock, and in every crack was a venomous beast waiting to attack and kill an unsuspecting victim. In my nine years in Moab, I only heard of a few such incidents; the most serious bite victim I knew was bitten in her bed by a black widow—and she survived.

The animals below have an undeserved reputation as agents of death, which has made them public enemy number one for some folks. Apparently there are those who believe that they are helping to restore order to the world by eradicating every scorpion, rattler, and spider they encounter. This always seemed rather pointless considering more people die from bee stings or dog attacks than from the combined bites and stings of the desert's so-called killers.

Many people also harbor a surprising array of myths regarding these mostly shy, but scary-looking animals. They are about as valid as their fears.

**Fang rating system is based on pain, with death being the ultimate pain.**

Scorpions
Most widespread: Boreal scorpion - Paruroctonus boreus (Canada to Nebraska)
Most lethal: Bark scorpion - Centruroides exilicauda
Danger Rating: 1 fang, except for Bark scorpion - 3+ fangs

Three myths. Men are only susceptible to scorpion stings in the morning (females could be stricken at any hour?). Scorpions commit suicide. All scorpions are deadly. All are wrong. Only about 25 of the 1,500 scorpions found worldwide have venom deadly to people. Most stings (scorpions do not bite) are not problematic. In the US only the bark scorpion, which is most common in southern Arizona, has a venom that can kill (albeit rarely) a human.

People don’t often see scorpions because they are nocturnal and spend the majority of their time in burrows or under rocks, logs, and bark. They employ sophisticated sensory capabilities to locate prey, similar to the methods used by seismologists in locating earthquakes. Hairs and slits on the scorpion's legs detect subsurface vibrations, and by determining the magnitude and direction of wave propagation, a scorpion can locate his/her next meal. Night is the best time to see one, because their exoskeleton fluoresces under black light. One word of caution, however, remember that other animals, like rattlesnakes, do not glow and often forage at night.

From iNaturalist: a giant desert hairy, about the length of a Baby Ruth candy bar. It’s the species I have most often seen.

Tarantulas
Scientific name: Aphonopelma sp. (29 species)
Danger Rating - 1 fang for bite, 2 fangs for urticating hairs

Neither poisonous nor aggressive, tarantulas prefer to avoid human contact and will only bite if severely provoked and unable to escape by any other means. They can though create a cloud of hairs by scraping their abdomen. These urticating hairs are especially irritating to the eyes and nose of humans and other mammals.

Tarantulas live in burrows often located under bushes or boulders and generally become active in fall. If you see one wandering about, you can safely assume that he is a male. Once males reach sexual maturity, which occurs between the ages of 7 and 14, they abandon their burrows and literally walk themselves to death (up to a mile) in search of a mate. Females spend the majority of their life, which can be up to 25 years, in the burrow.

Between the 15th to 18th centuries in southern Italy, an epidemic known as tarantism spread throughout the populace. The unfortunate people suffered through “grotesque and unnatural gestures and extravagant postures,” ultimately resulting in death. The only cure was music that induced a series of movements known as the tarantella dance. All of this was supposedly brought about by the bite of a tarantula.

My friend John is one tough fellow, not giving an inch to the tarantula that crossed his path in New Mexico.

Rattlesnakes
Longest: Western diamondback (Crotalus atrox)
Most poisonous: Mojave (Crotalus scutulus) or Tiger (Crotalus tigris)
Danger Rating - 1 to 4 fangs depending on species and envenomation

Few animals have as many myths associated with them as rattlesnakes. Consider these supposed cures for their bites: applying a mashed rattler head or crocodile tooth shavings to the wound; splitting open a chicken and bleeding it on the bite; or rubbing an onion on the wound. Many treatments tended to “work” because 20% of all adult bites are dry; the remaining 80% range from a minimal injection to ones that can kill. So, you could use just about anything and claim a cure because no venom was involved.

Despite what some say, you cannot tell the age of a rattlesnake by counting rattles. The problem is that rattlers add a rattle each time they shed their skin, which occurs two to four times a year. Plus, rattles periodically break off; so the number of rattles tells you nothing about age. This myth has persisted, however, since its first appearance in print—in 1615.

If you have spent any time in the desert you have probably walked right by a rattlesnake; they generally only rattle when they feel threatened. Camouflage is their first line of defense and most rattlers have muted colors and patterns that blend into their surroundings. And, don't worry if you sleep out, they will not climb into your sleeping bag and snuggle for warmth.

Black Widow Spider
Scientific name: Latrodectus hesperus
Occurs in all southwestern states
Danger rating: 3 fangs

One of the most widespread "facts" in the animal world is that female black widows consume the males immediately after mating. Despite their reputation, females do not actively attack males (1/3 her size) after mating. Instead, males generally crawl away from females and simply go into another part of the web to die. One could view this as a noble sacrifice, for the male provides food to the female and hence to his progeny. Plus, whilst in flagrante, the male's two copulatory organs break off inside the female. At this point, life isn’t worth living for him, at least from an evolutionary point of view, so he might as well serve a purpose and become food.

Black widows also have a reputation for their poisonous bite. This fact is well deserved as they can inject a neurotoxin up to 14 times more toxic than a rattlesnake's. Few people notice the relatively painless spider bite, but symptoms, which include intense pain, vomiting, and nausea, manifest quickly. Children and the elderly are the most susceptible.

Female black widow with characteristic red hour glass. Photo from Wikipedia by Ken-ichi Ueda

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Word of the week - Urticate - From the Latin urtica, to sting. Although tarantulas do not live in the wild in Washington, we do have a well-known plant that links to them, at least etymologically. The scientific name for stinging nettle is Urtica dioica, a plant I recently saw described on a state park interpretive sign as “nasty.” Remember, you were warned.