The Realm Of Nature

Welcome to Issue 9 of THE REALM! Prepare for a fright as we take a tour of the spooky side of nature exploring the myths behind some of the creatures that have became so entwined with horror and searching for the truth.  Awaken those culinary skills with some recipes for pumpkins and find out how to grow your own pumkins ready for next year.  Step into the world of the wolf as we seek the truth behind this misuderstood predator.  Natures vampires abound with the new discovery of a vampire moth, not forgetting the infamous vampire bat and the blod-sucking finches of the Galapagos!  Slip into the mysterious world of Africa's most feared snake, the black mamba, and see how this deadly snake compares to other venemous creatures.  Perhaps a surprising addition to the collection of Halloween creatures, we investigate owls connection to this time of year and of course we can't forget those eight-legged mini-beasts - the spiders.

CONTENTS

IN THE NEWS: Vampire Moths & other top stories

The Pumpkin

The Howl of the Wolf

A murder of Crows

The Shadow of Death

Spirit of the Owl

Tales of the Vampire Bat

Incy Wincy Spider

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

In perfect time for Halloween comes the news of a new species found to quench their thirst on blood. The male moths from the Russian population of Calyptra thalictri have been found to feast on blood using their proboscis that is normally used for piercing the skin of fruits to break through the skin of living animals.  It is thought that the low salt levels in the diet of their larvae could be behind this blood-sucking behaviour.  By drinking the salt-rich blood of other animals, the male moths can increase their salt levels and pass this on to the females they breed with who in turn pass the valuable salt nto their offspring increasing their chances of survival. 

This places these moths among the few species known to feast on blood including vampire bats, vampire finches, mosquitos and others.

Read more about this remarkable discovery and watch a video showing the moths in action here - http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081027-vampire-moth-evolution-halloween-missions.html

Other top stories making the news this month...

A new species of legless lizard has been named Bachia oxyrhina but it may already be under threat as its habitat - Brazil's wooded savanna - is being converted to ranch and cropland twice as fast as the Amazon rainforest.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081023-new-lizard-photo.html

Malaysian authorities saved 1,272 reptiles from ending up on the Chinese menu after a raid that found the live animals - most of them clouded monitors - packed in crates. It is thought that they were headed for the markets of China, Hong Kong or Thailand.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20081022/twl-life-us-malaysia-exotic-9020220.html

There may be hope for the future of the red squirrel as it appears they are starting to build up resistance to the potentially lethal pox carried by the introduced grey squirrel. It is the first time any immunity has been seen in wild squirrels and could help in the development of a vaccine against the disease.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/10/15/easquirrel115.xml

Long-associated with Halloween, nightmares, horror is the much misunderstood wolf.  Driven to extinction in some places like the United Kingdom, the myths surrounding this intelligent pack-hunter are still limiting their recovery in some parts of the world.  People are far more of a threat to them than they are to us.  Where possible they avoid humans and attacks are very rare.  However, as people encroach on more and more of the wolves’ territory they have to adapt.  With fewer wild places for packs to establish a territory and prey declining, they are starting to move into towns in search of food where they come into more conflict with people.  As over hunting by man and overgrazing drives out their natural prey, unprotected livestock becomes an easy alternative.  Yet there are ways to reduce the loss of livestock to wolves.  A few breeds of dog have been bred especially for the purpose of keeping their cousins away from the sheep and these dogs are very successful at keeping the wolves at bay.  Yet the wolf still remains an animal to hate in many parts of the world and is arguably one of the most feared of predators though without just cause.

In folklore they are portrayed as vicious, cunning, evil creatures associated with witches, demons and the devil and this may contribute to the negative reputation of the wolf.  There are myths that associate them with causing the end of the world in some mythology with others that describe the wolf been created by the devil himself.  Yet there are also positive tales of the wolf, often involving a she-wolf nursing orphaned children the most famous being Romulus and Remus who went on to found Rome.  Native American mythology often looked up to the wolf for they were such great hunters and became associated with the power that a man needs to also be a great hunter.  But perhaps the best known of wolf myths are those of the werewolf…

Hunt of the Werewolf

In the oldest werewolf myths, the transformation was a complete change from man to wolf (tales of the reverse do occur - of wolves and other animals that can transform into human form - but these are rare). It has only been in modern times that the transformation was only partial with a beast somewhere between man and wolf.

Early in mankind’s history, hunters wore the skin of animals, predators like bears and wolves. It is thought that aside from the use in keeping the wearer warm that wearing the hides gave some sense of strength and power for the hunt. For these cultures, the wolf was a symbol of great hunting skill and they were viewed as the companion of the Gods.

Werewolves have a mixed history. They have been portrayed as heroes and villains, friends and foes. European tradition often had werewolves as being people placed under the curse of a witch to be transformed into human form. One such tale is the story of a French baron named Bisclavret who had to change into a wolf three days out of every week. His wife begged him to tell her where he disappeared to, and he confessed that he was a werewolf and needed his human clothes to change back into the form of a man. Upon discovering this, she had a knight hide his clothes leaving him trapped as a wolf. Later, the King and his hunting dogs cornered Bisclavret in his wolf form. Seeing the king, Bisclavret ran up to him begging for mercy and the King called off the dogs. Bisclavret followed the King and the hunting party back to the castle where everyone adored him. When the wife and her new husband - the knight that had stolen Bisclavret’s clothing - visited the castle he attacked them. As he had never reacted this way before, everyone knew that these two people had done him wrong. The wife eventually confessed and returned his clothing. Bisclavret became a man again, and his wife and the knight were banished from the kingdom.

Not all stories hold werewolves in such a nice light. The wolf was depicted as a tool of Satan, an enemy that stole the souls of men. The view of wolves and werewolves was one of vicious killers stalking the night seeking out their next victim to tear apart. But there is some truth in the myths. Horrible as some of the reported werewolf incidents are, a number of them may have an element of truth in them. It is thought that some of the crimes committed where numerous people were found horrifically murdered were cases of serial killers. At the time, the crimes were too horrible to be understandable and the killer being possessed was often given as the reason for their crimes. In fact, many of the werewolf crimes committed by people were probably the result of a mental disorder called Lycanthropy. This disorder makes the killer think that they are really a werewolf and some will kill as a result, though not all sufferers of the disorder do kill and maim others.

Serial killers are around today, but rather than blaming the supernatural for their crimes there is more known about the causes and a supernatural influence isn‘t needed to explain the reasons. Had the serial killer Edward Gein, the inspiration for the character Leatherface in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, occurred just a few centuries ago, his crimes could easily have been put down to him being a werewolf.

The werewolf hysteria contributed to the persecution of wolves. In France, the myth of the Beast of Gévaudan resulted in numerous wolves being killed in the attempts to catch the killer beast. Wolf attacks on people are very rare, and most of the werewolf myths most can be attributed to an attack by a human. In fact, wolves prefer to avoid humans having developed a fear of people after being persecuted for hundreds of years and will avoid humans as much as they can. Conflicts continue between people and livestock, but increasingly “new” methods of reducing attacks are being investigated - some looking at using domestic dogs, close relatives of wolves.

Science brings understanding towards the wolf, but still despite all the evidence amassed that wolves aren’t the vicious killers of myth and folklore these myths persist.

Wolves: The Truth

So what is the truth about the wolf?  Yes they are predators and they will take unprotected livestock but there are numerous non-lethal measures available to keep most livestock safe.  They are top predators and take the prey that is available to them.  Their diet is wide-ranging from caribou to salmon that they fish from the rivers.  Working as a pack, they can even bring down large, dangerous prey like bison that are more than capable of turning the tables and killing a wolf. 

Why do wolves hunt in packs?  The answer lies in the den where the alpha female gives birth to her pups.  It is these naked, helpless cubs that are the glue that bonds a pack together.  It is two years before a cub reaches sexual maturity, and so the advantage to them is also to remain within the protected family nucleus and by staying with the family they have more time to hone their hunting skills before they have only themselves to depend upon.  Only when the pressure to find a mate and breed reaches them do they set out to create packs of their own.   Alone a male wolf would struggle to find enough food to sustain himself, the female and the precious cubs but by working together with last seasons offspring remaining with their parents and occasionally other related adults they can search a wider area and tackle bigger prey than any could do alone and they can finds more prey to feed the hungry cubs.  Even then, it is a struggle to keep the cubs alive with many falling victim to starvation and other predators.  Should a wolf reach maturity though they can then often live to between 6-10 years though some have been recorded as living to around 14.  Living in packs also means that should a member of the pack become injured even permanently, survival is still possible for that individual for the rest of the pack will continue to support them – a far cry from the heartless beasts of myth!

The call of the wolf – that long, haunted howl is a common sound in horror movies.  Yet that how is simply how the members of the pack and neighbouring packs communicate with each other.  Though it may not mean much to us, to another wolf the howls give out a lot of information – where that wolf is, whose territory this is, if that individual is seeking a mate.  Within the pack itself it is thought that howling helps strengthen the bonds between them and howls even may give out some kind of celebration as wolves are known to howl when the female has given birth to cubs or when they have made a kill.  However, wolves don’t howl at the moon though they are more active on moonlit nights as they is more light for them to see prey thus they are more likely to find and make a successful kill.

Other Were-beasts

There are myths of other were-animals; in fact most cultures have their tales of people that can transform into one animal or another.  Werewolves are perhaps the most common because these feature strongly in European and North American mythology, and relatives of wolves are also relatively common were-animals including foxes, coyotes and jackals. This is the mythology that many of us are most familiar with and the one that has made its way most into movies and TV.  In other places though, the were-animal is usually whatever the top predator people come into contact with is.  In India, people transform into were-tigers. Here, though there are wolves about the tiger is the top predator. Even wolves will avoid the tiger at all costs trying to avoid sharing a territory with these powerful big cats. Africa has were-lions, were-hyenas and were-leopards. In Fiji there are even were-sharks, though unlike most myths surrounding were-animals and sharks, the were-sharks were usually benevolent and not malicious. 

They are symbolic to the horror movie – the all-black birds sat perched atop a leafless branch their sharp, harsh caw breaking the silence.  Circling battlefields, alighting next to a carcass to feast upon the still-warm flesh of the fallen.  They are the crows and their relatives – collectively known as the Corvids.  Myth and superstition has surrounded these intelligent opportunists for millennia.  Ancient Greek myths saw the crow as a bearer of bad news; hence the Goddess Athena cursed them to be black forever.  But not all members are black – jays are among the most colourful member of the family and magpies come in a range of colours from the black and white of the European magpie to the beautiful blue of the Azure magpie that lives in the forests of India, often mobbing tigers for a share of the kill.  However, most sport the black feathers so often associated with this family of birds.

Yet crows and ravens aren’t always depicted in a negative light.  Indeed, some native American myths have the raven helping to create the world and bringing fire, light and water to the people – in these myths the raven was often white or a colourful bird but the smoke from the fire turned all his feather black and

He remained that way ever since.

Corvids have in many myths been seen as intelligent birds – and indeed they are.  They have been shown to have an excellent problem-solving ability and are capable of thinking through what they need to do to reach a snack without having to go through a process of trial and error.  They have even been seen making tools, such as the New Caledonian Crow, to snag tasty grubs from holes in trees, making different tools for different jobs.  This ability to find ways to reach food is what makes this a very successful group of birds.  Their diet is wide ranging.  Though often associated with carrion they will also take grubs, insects, fruit, nuts, seeds, scraps and will even turn to predator raiding birds nests for eggs and chicks, and they will even hunt other species when they need to.  Hard shells are no problem for these birds – should they find their powerful beaks can’t crack a nut or break the shell of a mollusc they learn to drop them onto rocks from a height to get the contents.  Crows have even learnt to use vehicles to crack nuts, waiting by traffic lights for the cars to stop before dropping a nut in front of the cars.  When the cars start moving the nut is cracked under the tires and all the crow has to do is wait for the traffic lights to turn red again when it can fly down from its perch and eat its meal.

The magpie is notorious for its love of shiny objects, which they collect and store in their nests possibly to help them attract a mate.  The loud, and very noticeable, European magpie has found itself surrounded by superstition.  It is seen as a bad omen and this has led to the belief that upon seeing a magpie it should be greeted to repel back luck or encourage good luck.  Yet European magpies have recently been found to be one of the few animals able to recognise themselves in a mirror and are the first non-mammal to be recognised to do this.

Yet the superstition still surrounds this successful group of birds despite their intelligence.  They are seen as being in line with the devil bringing back luck and misfortune, yet in other superstition and folklore bringing good luck depending on behaviour.  While today it is more common for two doves to be released at a wedding, it is also done with two crows.  Should the birds fly away together the marriage would be a long and happy one, but should the two birds part the married couple would also soon go their separate ways. 

Myth surrounds the feared snake that has been given the name “The Shadow of Death” – the venomous black mamba.  Related to the cobras such as the Egyptian Cobra these are one of the most venemos of the Elapidae family of snakes.  Reputed to chase people for miles, slaughter entire families, attacking on site the black mamba is arguably the most feared snake in the east African region where they live, such myths leading to its reputation as the world’s deadliest snake.

Yet in truth the black mamba, like all snakes, prefers to stay out of trouble.  Defence is the second use of the snakes’ precious venom; the primary purpose is to catch its prey of rodents.  Though they can travel at speeds of over twelve miles per hour – and are indeed capable of catching up to a fleeing human, their great speed is not for chasing down people but for keeping themselves out of trouble.  Deadly their venom may be but there are other animals in Africa that won’t hesitate to tackle a snake – even the black mamba.  Like a cobra they spread a hood when threatened as a warning to back off or be bitten.  Failure to move away or continued harassment of the snake can and does then lead to a bite, and they don’t tend to bite only once but several times in quick succession.  This “tag and retreat” method of biting is used by many venomous snakes when catching their prey as holding onto a rodent or other small mammal could easily result in the snake being injured by teeth and claws.  As a result, the snake simply allows the prey to flee knowing that it won’t be able to go far before the venom does its business.  Used against a larger non-prey animal like a human, the message is to back off and leave the snake alone. 

The black mambas’ venom is a toxic cocktail of neurotoxins that are so deadly it is rumoured that the black mamba is even capable of taking down a giraffe.  These neurotoxins act to paralyse the victim first inducing feverish symptoms and eventually if left untreated resulting in paralysis and death.  From invenomation to death it can be as little as 20 minutes.  In a single bite a black mamba is capable of delivering up to 200 milligrams of venom, to kill a human a mere 20 milligrams is all that is needed. 

Yet the mambas’ venom does not cause damage to the bodies’ tissue like the venom of other snakes and this led to a radical new treatment of the mambas bite.  When time runs out to administer the antivenin, it doesn’t mean that time runs out for the victim.  Mechanical life support that keeps the heart, lungs and kidney functioning along with blood transfusions can and does allow the patient to fully recover from the mambas bite.  Disturbingly though, the paralysis that a person bitten by a mamba suffers could tie into legends of bodies failing to rot after a week, zombies and voodoo…because the venom leaves a person effectively appearing to be dead victims of the mambas bite could have ended up buried alive while their minds were still conscious and aware of what was going on around them but unable to move or do anything to get a message across to the people around them.  A terrifying thought.  With modern medicine though the chances of this happening are much slimmer and where the victim receives treatment the chances of recovery are good. 

Hatchling black mambas are equipped with their potent venom from day one – they have to be for they have only themselves to depend upon for catching their first meal and protecting themselves from their own predators.  Though hatching at around two feet in length, they are still very vulnerable.  Within a couple of years they can be over seven feet in length. 

Yet despite their fearsome reputation for attacking a person on sight, black mambas can often be found living peacefully alongside humans.  The dwellings in which people live in are a magnet for rodents, and this inevitably brings in the snakes.  The mambas live alongside the people, doing a service by keeping down the numbers of rodents that raid food supplies and that can spread disease.  As long as the mamba is left in peace and isn’t cornered or threatened they have no wish to attack and waste venom on defending themselves.

Like many snakes, the black mamba is misunderstood yet it remains shrouded in myth and fear.  Yet the mamba, and all snakes, do not deserve the reputation they are given.  Like any wild animal, when threatened and unable to escape they will defend themselves.  It is not the mambas’ fault that their method of defence can prove fatal for us.

Inland Taipan – the deadliest snake in the world

Though considered the deadliest snake in Africa, the black mamba is miles away from being the world’s deadliest snake.  A lot of miles…over 6,000 of them to be precise.  Australia’s Inland Tiapan, also known as the fierce snake, is considered to have the most deadly venom of any snake.  A single bite contains enough venom to kill 100 people.  Yet like the mamba, that venom is primarily for catching the small mice and rodents the snake feeds upon and they are reluctant to use it on anything but their prey only biting when provoked.

Deadliest Venom

Even the Inland Tiapan is no match for what is considered to be the most venomous of all animals.  A creature that makes grown men wear women’s tights.  The Box Jellyfish or Sea Wasp.  The tentacles of this small jellyfish can reach up to three metres long and are covered in tiny stinging cells each one containing a shot of venom.  Like the snakes, the main purpose of this venom is to catch prey – small fish – that have to be killed instantly otherwise they could do considerable damage to the jellyfish’s fragile body if they struggled.  This venom though is also fatal to humans and can kill in as little as five minutes.  So why are men wearing tights?  The jellyfish rely on chemicals on the skin to trigger a reaction.  The nylon of tights has no such chemicals and therefore the jellyfish don’t sting!

It might come as a surprise to see owls included here. Yes, they are often thought of as living in creepy old houses and haunted barns, but a Halloween creature? Today, owls are generally thought of as wise animals but in the past the view of them was completely different, and in some places the view of the evil owl still remains.

Why have owls been considered in such a negative light? Part of this is due to their nocturnal behaviour, their ability to fly in complete silence and those large staring eyes. The sounds that some owls make were attributed to screams in the night, or even the souls of the dead. Some of these characteristics led to owls becoming associated with witches and magic.  Although today cats are commonly the first animal that would spring to mind as being a witches familiar, in myths owls were also connected with witches and magic. Although some of this was in a positive light, such as the wizard Merlin’s wise old owl and Hedwig the owl in Harry Potter, other tales told of less friendly and benevolent owls.  It was said that a witch could transform herself into the form of an owl, and in the shape of the owl they would swoop down from the dark sky feeding upon the blood of babies.

In numerous folklore across the world, owls were a sign of sickness and death. In England it was believed that should a barn owl fly past the window of an ill person they would soon die. Even the Ancient Aztecs held the association between owls and death. Their god of death was depicted as an owl, a symbol of destruction. The feathered tufts on the heads of some species of owl such as the horned owl of Japan led to the owls being associated with the Devil.

It is believed that the ghostly form of white owls is the cause of many ghost myths. In the dark, their faces caught in the dim night light can appear eerily human. Their silent flight adds to the mystery and ghostly connections and the screech of some owls could easily be mistaken for the screams of dead souls. In some superstitions, it is believed that the owl is the only animal that can live alongside a ghost, hence their ability to thrive in haunted houses.

In the autumn around the time of Halloween when bomb fires were lit, owls would come swooping down to feast upon the insects and small rodents scared by the flames. Though with numerous negative associations in the past, owls are in fact useful predators if still holding on to many mysteries.

If I were to ask what animal people associated most with Halloween, the Vampire Bat would no doubt be close to the top of the list. The fluttering mammal with the body of a rodent and leathery wings is connected with the legend of vampires. But where does this connection come from and is there any truth to these tales?

It may surprise you to hear that the connection between bats and vampires isn’t a particularly old one. Bram Stoker created the story that vampires could transform themselves into a bat in his infamous book, Dracula. Though even before then, bats were associated with Halloween. They lived in creepy places, could fly at night and were rarely seen during the day. When bomb fires were lit on All Hallows Eve, bats and owls would frequently swoop down to feast on insects disturbed from their hiding places amongst the burning timber. There was a long association between bats and the dead in folklore too. It was believed that bats were the restless souls of the dead, unable to move on and trapped forever in the body of a bat. Could it have been these myths that led to Bram Stoker giving his character Dracula the ability to transform into a bat?

While vampire legends exist in nearly all European and Asian traditions, this was without any connection to bats. In legend vampires could transform into various animal guises but though it is possible that a bat was among them, it wasn‘t highlighted. It was long after the first vampire myths arose that the first Europeans stumbled upon a creature that held the characteristics of the vampire foes. It hid away from sunlight, could move through the darkness and most importantly it feasted on blood. This animal was, of course, the Vampire Bat. Could the stories about these bats have been what influenced Bram Stoker to create the connection? In truth, no one really knows. But since then bats have been the preferred companion of the blood-sucking vampires.

Vampires are, of course, fiction. They don’t really exist, unlike the vampire bat. But there isn’t just one species, there are three. Yet these bats only rarely bite humans, preferring to select other mammals, birds, cattle or other livestock to quench their thirst. Every few days they need to drink their fill of blood, and they often have to travel a considerable distance to locate their next meal. Hunting under the cover of darkness, they seek out their next victim sleeping in the forest. Sharp little teeth make a tiny wound in the animals’ skin and the vampire bat will lap up the blood flowing from the cut. As sunrise approaches, the vampire bats flee. They return to the roosts to wait out the hours of daylight, waiting for darkness to descend and they can once again go on the hunt.

Though they feed on the blood of animals, vampire bats do little harm to their hosts. In the movies they are usually shown as large creatures, but in truth they are tiny. Their body is only about the size of an adults thumb. Far too small to do any real damage to the large animals they feed on. They may be irritating to their host, but they are far from being a danger to them.

There is even a nice side to the vampire bat, one that people know little about. It may be assumed that these bats are loners, solitary creatures that hide away in solitary confinement. In truth, they are very sociable. They will even spend the day sharing roosts with other species of bat. Normally they live together in little groups with around one male to twenty females. The social bonds between members of the colony are surprisingly strong. Should a bat in the colony fail to find a meal, it doesn’t have to sit and starve while the others in the group sleep with full tummies. There is another option. A hungry bat can ask another member in the colony to donate some of its meal. If the other bat agrees, the two will “kiss” as blood is regurgitated by one and passed to the other. This small gift helps the receiving bat to survive the day to hunt again that next night, and the donor bat will have some chance of receiving the same benefits should it be in need of food. Vampire bats may even have “best buddies” to do these blood transfers with. Such behaviour is far from an evil, negative image they hold!

There is another animal that has adapted its diet to drinking blood. This animal is similar to those we are likely to find in our own gardens, towns and countryside. It belongs in a group of animals that are all around us, everywhere. Some people even attract them into their gardens with gifts of food. The relatives that we see aren’t feeders of blood though. They eat insects, spiders and seeds. They are the finches.

It could be a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”. On a group of islands in the Pacific lives a finch that behaves completely differently to all others. A finch that doesn’t eat seeds or fruit, or insects and grubs. No, this finch is a vampire. It feeds on blood. The islands on which this finch lives are the Galapagos Islands, home to many unique animals. But few can be as unique as the Vampire Finch.

The vampire finch is actually a subspecies of the sharp-beaked ground finch. Only the difference in diet is what really separates these two. Originally it is thought that the finch would have fed on ticks, fleas and other parasites living in the feathers of seabirds and on the skin of tortoises. But the finches were unable to get enough sustenance from this diet. Maybe at first, a cut or injury on a bird offered something a bit extra. A little bit of blood. But it wasn’t enough. The finches started to create their own cuts and wounds to get the blood flowing.

Should we fear these creatures that live off the blood of animals just like vampires of legend? Well…no. There is no need to worry, for neither is known to feed on humans with any regularity. Such instances where a vampire bat has fed on a human are very rare, and even then you probably won’t even realise that a bat had taken a little blood donation until you spot those twin red dots on your big toe…

They climb walls, scurry over the bed, hide away in cracks and crevices, and build traps of sticky silk in which to catch their helpless victims.  No matter how much their victim struggles, they just become more entangled in the fine silk.  There is no escaping this trap.  The predator moves forwards, fangs gleaming with venom.  Eight long legs wait to grab onto the entangled prey.  These are, of course, the spiders.

Spiders are a staple in many horror films.  Anything involving places with haunted houses, creepy tombs...you'll find spiders lurking in the shadows.  If you don't see the actual spider, you will see their webs.  Spiders have even made the enemy number one in numerous films, among them Eight Legged Freaks and Arachnophobia.  Most of the spiders seen in the movies are tarantulas.  Though they look fearsome, true tarantulas aren't among the most deadly of spiders and some species are kept as pets! 

There is one spider though that signals that time may soon be up for anyone that disturbs her from her rest...  On the abdomen of this spider is a blood red hourglass.  This spider is, of course, the Black Widow.  These spiders are found worldwide, and their bite can prove to be deadly.  But more often than not...it doesn't.  A bite to a healthy adult may be extremely painful, but life threatening it usually is not. 

A more dangerous species is a spider that wanders through the dark nights hunting down her prey, killing with the most toxic of spider venoms.  They like to hide in bunches of bananas, so beware the spider crawling out from this delicious fruit...This spider is the Brazilian Wandering Spider.  Currently this species holds the title of the spider with the most toxic venom in the world.  When they are disturbed or feel threatened, they do not hesitate to bite in self defense.  When you see a large spider, and don't know what it is, move away and let it be.  You don't want to give the wrong spider a reason to bite...

There is another creepy aspect to the lives of the spider, or at least it is if you happen to be a male...A female spider doesn't hesitate to devour any suitor she so chooses.  If he is lucky, she accepts him for long enough to allow him to mate.  If he is not, she takes him as prey before he can father her offspring.  Cannibalism isn't taboo in spider society, and may have a use for those males that impregnate the female.  For male spiders lives are usually short, and for many it is all they can manage to find and mate with one female.  Instead of dying without mating again, he does what is for the best for his future offspring.  By sacrificing himself, he gives the female a nutritional boost when it comes to her eggs and this in the long run benefits his offspring.

But of all these spiders, there is only one that can be the really spider of All Hallows Eve.  It isn't a deadly spider, it isn't big.  It is just like the spiders often found in our gardens creating delicate orb webs.  This spider is called the "Halloween Spider".  Its abdomen looks like a tiny Jack-o’-lantern and these spiders commonly appear just in time for Halloween!

It just remains for me to wish all readers a very Happy Halloween!  I hope you have enjoyed this issue of The Realm and you will return to read future issues.  Feel free to leave suggestions and comments on what you think of this issue and suggestions for future issues below...