Title: Poisonous Dwellers of the Desert
Author: Natt N. Dodge
Release date: April 14, 2017 [eBook #54548]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed
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Popular Series No. 3
Southwest Parks and Monuments Association
Deserts of the Southwest are not desolate expanses of sand as many persons believe. This photograph, showing vegetation in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, is a typical illustration of the variety and density of plant growth in the Sonoran desert area of northwestern Mexico and southwestern Arizona.
by NATT N. DODGE
TWELFTH EDITION (revised), 1970
Published in co-operation with the National Park Service by the Southwest Parks and Monuments Association in keeping with one of its objectives, to provide accurate and authentic information about the Southwest.
Southwest Parks and Monuments Association Globe, Arizona (formerly Southwestern Monuments Association)
Copyright, 1952, by the Southwestern Monuments Association
Box 1562, Gila Pueblo, Globe, Arizona 85501
Published October 21, 1947
Second printing, revised, October, 1948
Third printing, revised, December, 1948
Fourth printing, revised, January, 1952
Fifth printing, June, 1953
Sixth printing, March, 1955
Seventh printing, December, 1957
Eighth printing, revised, January, 1961
Ninth printing, revised, March, 1964
Tenth printing, June, 1966
Eleventh printing, August, 1968
Twelfth printing, revised, August, 1970
Printed in the United States of America
by PABSCO Printing and Business Supply Co.
Globe, Arizona
Recommendations given in previous editions of this book regarding use of DDT and other “hard” pesticides are withdrawn in this 12th edition. We advise, until questions about merits and dangers of these products are resolved, that you contact a local agency before deciding what pesticides, if any, to use.
We believe that every citizen should make a real effort to become informed about pesticides and potential changes in them, for use or non-use will likely have great impact on mankind’s future use of this earth.
The author has conducted no original research, but has simply assembled information provided by others who have made painstaking scientific investigations into the lives, habits, and poisons of desert creatures. To these men all credit for the information contained herein is due.
The writer considers it a privilege to present partially herein the results of work conducted by Dr. Herbert L. Stahnke, Poisonous Animals Laboratory, Arizona State University, on scorpions and other poisonous creatures.
Valuable assistance has been obtained from Dr. Howard K. Gloyd, former director of the Chicago Academy of Sciences. To Laurence M. Klauber and the late C. B. Perkins, formerly of the San Diego Museum of Natural History, are expressed our thanks for much valuable information relative to poisonous snakes.
The help and cooperation of Dr. Sherwin F. Wood of Los Angeles City College has made possible inclusion of the section on the conenose bug.
The late Dr. Forest Shreve, for many years director of the Desert Laboratory in Tucson, and the late Dr. Charles Vorhies, zoologist at the University of Arizona, proved to be founts of knowledge regarding plant and animal life of the desert. The late Dr. C. P. Russell, of the National Park Service, checked many statements to assure accuracy.
We are indebted to Dr. W. Ray Jones, physician and hobby beekeeper in Seattle, Washington for his findings on, and treatment of, bee-sting poisoning. Also to Dr. F. A. Shannon of Wickenburg, Arizona for his especially helpful commentary. We take this opportunity to thank Dr. Paul Wehrle, entomologist, University of Arizona, and Dr. W. J. Gertsch of the American Museum of Natural History, for kindly checking the contents for authenticity.
Map of western United States and Mexico showing location of deserts
The late Dr. Forrest Shreve of the Desert Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona, stated that the principal characteristic of a desert is “deficient and uncertain rainfall.” From our grammar school geographies we gained the impression that a desert is a great expanse of sand piled into dunes by the wind, without moisture or vegetation, a land of thirst, desolation, even death.
Although sand dunes devoid of vegetation are characteristic of the Sahara and some other deserts of the world, those of the United States support a variety of plant and animal life which, through generations of adaptation, are able to meet the conditions imposed by this environment (see frontispiece). Persons who misunderstand our deserts fear them, while others who have visited them become fascinated and return periodically or settle down and live in them.
Some of the creatures living in deserts are known to be poisonous to man. Western thriller fiction of press, screen, and TV has emphasized and exaggerated this fact, developing in many people a wholly mistaken fear of the desert and its inhabitants. In contrast, other persons may under-estimate the possibility of injury from these animals and become careless.
It is the purpose of this booklet to discuss accurately the various poisonous dwellers of the desert, as well as to debunk some of the superstitions and misunderstandings which have developed.
A majority of the poisonous creatures in the desert are by no means restricted to that environment. Rattlesnakes, for example, so often associated with the arid regions of the West, occur in nearly every section of the United States.
“A poison,” states Encyclopedia Brittanica, “is a substance which, by its direct action on the mucous membrane, tissues, or skin, or after absorption into the circulatory system can, in the way which it is administered, injuriously affect health or destroy life.” A poisonous creature may be defined as one which produces a poison for the administering of which it has developed a special mechanism.
Since, due to personal differences, the bite or sting of a poisonous creature may injuriously affect the health of one person and not that of another, and since the poison of one individual creature may be insufficient to cause an unpleasant reaction, while that from several hundred might produce severe illness or even death, it is difficult to determine which creature should be included in a publication of this nature. The writer, therefore, has exercised his judgment in discussing in the following pages such creatures as he feels may offer a menace to the welfare of a visitor to the desert. In addition, a few paragraphs are included for the defense of several harmless desert dwellers which are mistakenly believed poisonous and which, as a result, have been mercilessly persecuted.
Giant desert centipede
Enlarged view of underside of centipede’s head, showing the double pair of jaws.
(Photographs by Marvin H. Frost Sr.)
It should be understood that the author has not himself conducted scientific research among the desert animals regarding which he writes. The material in this book is a digest of the findings of various competent scientific and medical authorities, and has been carefully checked for accuracy and authenticity.
Don’t be frightened as a result of reading this booklet. The desert is just as safe—perhaps safer—for homemaking as many other parts of our country.
Many species of centipedes of various sizes and colors are found throughout the world. The majority are small, harmless, and not sufficiently numerous to be considered seriously, even as pests.
Usually they are found under boards, in cracks and crevices, in basements and closets, and in other moist locations where they hide during the day and venture forth at night in search of small insects for food.
The large, poisonous desert centipede attains a length of 6 or even 8 inches and has jaws of sufficient strength to inflict a painful bite. Glands at the base of the jaw produce poison which causes the area about the bite to swell and become feverish and painful. Persons who have been bitten report that the swelling and tenderness may persist for several weeks, that the bite sometimes suppurates and is difficult and slow to heal.
Because the bite of even a large centipede is usually a painful inconvenience rather than a serious injury, no specific treatment has been developed. Application of an antiseptic such as iodine immediately following receipt of the bite, working it well into the fang punctures, is advised. Bathing the site of the bite with strong ammonia will bring relief if done immediately, while soaking the area in a solution of hot Epsom salts may shorten the period of discomfort. Prompt treatment by a physician will reduce duration and intensity of pain.
Although the bite of a large centipede is no joke, it is not cause for fear or worry. Exaggerated stories of the deadly effects of the bite, and reports that the tip of each leg carries a poisonous spur, have caused many persons to be overly afraid of centipedes. Hysteria and shock resulting from this unfounded fear probably have been the cause of more suffering than the bites themselves.
The tip of each of the 42 legs of the giant desert centipede is equipped with a sharp claw. It is possible when the centipede scurries across a person’s arm or leg for these claws to make pin-point punctures. Infection introduced through these tiny openings readily leads to the belief that poison has been injected. Prompt application of an antiseptic will greatly reduce the possibility of infection.
Left: Yellow, slender-tailed. Deadly species.
Centruroides sculpturatus
Center: Striped-tail. Not deadly.
Vejovis spinigeris
Right: Desert hairy. Large, not deadly.
Hadrurus hirsutus
More deaths have occurred in Arizona from scorpion sting than from the bites and stings of all other creatures combined. It is apparent that scorpions are dangerous, that all persons should be informed regarding them, and that details of first-aid treatment should be common knowledge.
In some parts of the South, scorpions are called “stinging lizards.” This is unfortunate because it has caused many people to think of lizards as poisonous and capable of stinging.
Not all scorpions are deadly. Danger from the two deadly species (one shown above) which look so much alike that only an expert can tell them apart, is greatest to children under 4 years of age. Unless prompt action is taken small children might succumb to the poison from a single sting from an individual of either of the deadly species. Older children may die from the effect of several stings, and adults, especially those in poor health, may suffer serious injuries.
Of the more than 20 species of scorpions recorded in Arizona where detailed studies have been made, the two deadly forms have been found only across the southern portion of the State and in the bottom of Grand Canyon. As far as is now known, no other deadly species occur in the Southwest, except in Mexico where there are several.
It is important, then, that all persons should recognize the deadly species. Study the photograph. Note that the deadly species (left) is about 2 inches in length, is straw colored, and that its entire body, especially the joints of the legs, pincers, and “tail,” are long and slender. It has a streamlined appearance. This is in contrast with the stubby or chunky appearance of the many non-deadly species.
Scorpions sting, they do not bite. The pincers at the head end of the body are for the purpose of holding the prey, which consists primarily of soft-bodied insects, while the scorpion tears it to pieces with its jaws.
The sting is located at the extremity of the “tail” and consists of a very sharp, curved tip attached to a bulbous organ containing the poison-secreting glands and poison reservoir. The sting is driven into the flesh of the victim by means of a quick, spring-like flick of the “tail.” Muscular pressure forces the poison into the wound through two tiny openings very near the sting tip. Thus the poison is injected beneath the skin, making treatment difficult, as the impervious skin renders surface application ineffective.
Whereas the poison of non-deadly species of scorpions is local in effect, causing swelling and discoloration of the tissues in immediate proximity to the point of puncture, that of the deadly species is general over the entire body of the victim. There is intense pain at the site of the sting but very little inflammation or swelling.
Giant desert hairy scorpion in alert position.
According to Kent and Stahnke[1], “the victim soon becomes restless. This increases to a degree that, in cases of small children, the patient is entirely unable to cooperate with attendants. It turns, frets, and does not remain quiet for an instant. The abdominal muscles may become rigid, and there may be contractions of the arms and legs. Drooling of saliva begins, and the heart rate increases. The temperature may reach 103 or 104 degrees. Cyanosis (skin turning blue) gradually appears, and respiration becomes increasingly difficult, causing a reaction not unlike that observed in a severe case of bronchial asthma. Involuntary urination and defecation may occur. In fatal cases the above symptoms may become so marked that apparently the child dies from exhaustion.
“In cases that recover, the acute symptoms subside in 12 hours or less. In the adult, symptoms as enumerated may be encountered, but as a rule they are less severe. Numbness is usually experienced at the site of the sting. If one of the appendages is stung, the member may become temporarily useless. Two cases of temporary blindness have been experienced. Some patients complain of malaise (discomfort) for many days following the sting. One patient developed a tachycardia (rapid heart) lasting two weeks.”
Dr. Stahnke recommends the following treatment for a person stung by one of the deadly scorpions:
“First, apply a tight tourniquet near the point of puncture and between it and the heart.... As soon as possible, place an ice pack on the site of the sting. Have a pack of finely crushed ice wrapped in as thin a cloth as possible. Cover and surround the area for about 10 to 12 inches. After the ice pack has been in place for approximately 5 minutes, remove the tourniquet.
“If a person is stung on the hand, foot, or other region that can be submerged completely, place the portion, as soon as possible, in an ice-and-water mixture made of small lumps of ice (about half the size of ice cubes) in a proportion of half ice and half water. Treatment should not be continued longer than 2 hours.
“NEVER put salt in the water. After the first 15 minutes, the hand or foot must be removed for relief for 1 minute every 10 minutes in the iced water.”
Dr. Stahnke continues: “If the patient is less than 3 years old, if the patient has been stung several times, or if the patient has been stung on the back of the neck, anywhere along the backbone, or on an area of deep flesh like the buttock, thigh, or trunk of the body, or especially on the genital organs, medical assistance should be obtained at once.”
Dr. F. A. Shannon advises that no person with disease involving the circulation of the extremities should use iced water. Morphine is a necessary tool in controlling pain, and barbiturates are useful for control of convulsions.
Several hospitals in southern Arizona keep a supply of scorpion antivenin and, in any case, the patient should be taken to a hospital as quickly as possible. In all cases the first-aid treatment should be applied and maintained until the patient is under the care of a physician.
With adults, in case a physician is not available, the iced-water treatment usually proves sufficient. Generally, after 2 hours of iced-water use, there is no longer any danger, but should symptoms reappear, treatment should be resumed.
Scorpion antivenin for stings of Centruroides sculpturatus and C. gertschi is available at the Poisonous Animals Research Laboratory, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. The recommended method of treatment is the “L-C” method. The L stands for ligature and C for cryotherapy (tourniquet and ice pack treatment).
Treatment is as follows: “As soon as possible (after the sting has been received) inject intramuscularly or subcutaneously, 5 to 10 cc. of natural serum or 3 cc. of the concentrated. In serious cases, inject intravenously.” No immediate untoward results have been noted, but some cases of skin irritation develop later.
In cases of scorpion poisoning when antivenin is not available, the following treatment is recommended[12]:
“Use morphine with extreme caution. It has not been found effective in the usual doses. Barbiturates are more effective and less dangerous. Bromides in large doses are apparently of value. In those cases characterized by severe pulmonary edema (accumulation of fluid in the lungs) atropine is indicated along with general supportive measures. Compresses, using a fairly concentrated ammonium hydroxide solution, have been found helpful if applied within a few moments. If applied for the first time about 10 minutes after the sting, no apparent benefit is attained.”
Scorpions normally remain in hiding during the day, coming out in search of insects at night. The deadly species are commonly found under bark on old stumps, in lumber piles, or in firewood piled in dark corners. It is not unusual to find them in basements or in linen closets. Adults may find an unpleasant surprise in a shoe or a piece of clothing taken from a closet or dresser drawer. Legs of cribs or children’s beds may be placed in cans containing kerosene or in wide-mouthed jars.
Moral: Keep your garage, basement, and premises in general, clean, tidy, and free from insects on which scorpions feed. Screen children’s cribs, and pull the sheets clear back before putting the youngsters to bed. Shake out your shoes before putting them on, and inspect sheets, blankets, or clothing which have been in closets or drawers.
Although spiders in general produce venom with which to paralyze their prey, only a very few have fangs of sufficient length or power to penetrate human skin, or venom of sufficient quantity or potency to affect human health.
There are two poisons present in spider venom: a toxin which cause local symptoms, and a toxalbumin producing general symptoms. In those spiders whose bites produce systematic disturbances it is believed that the latter poison predominates.
Black widows spin their webs in crevices between rocks, under logs or overhanging banks, in abandoned rodent holes, and in rock and wood piles. Indoors they are most frequently encountered in dark corners of garages, basements, and stables.
Underside of black widow spider showing characteristic red “hourglass” mark on the abdomen by which this species may be recognized.
A favorite and especially dangerous location in which a black widow establishes her home is beneath the seat of a pit toilet. Such a location is ideal for the spider because it is dark, is not usually disturbed, and insects, especially flies, upon which the spiders feed, are abundant. Humans using the toilet, unaware of the presence of the spider, arouse her by breaking or agitating her web, and offer especially tender and susceptible portions of their anatomies for her bite.
Pit toilets in warm climates should always be built with hinged seats which should be raised and inspected frequently. As a further precaution, the underside of the seats should be treated with creosote, an effective repellent.
Although the majority of people now recognize the black widow, some do not, hence they kill all dark-colored spiders on general principles. This is neither necessary nor desirable.
The female black widow is a medium-sized, glossy black, solitary spider with a globular abdomen spectacularly marked on the underside with a bright red spot roughly the shape of an hourglass. The normal position of the spider is hanging upside down in her web so that the “hourglass” is plainly visible if she is below the level of the eye. Her overall length is 1 to 1¼ inches.
The males are much smaller and, like the immature females, are grey in color and variously striped and spotted.
Adult females spin egg cocoons during the warm season; each cocoon contains approximately 300 to 500 eggs which hatch in about 30 days. As many as nine broods per year have been recorded. The young grow fast but do not mature until the following spring or summer.
Although black widows ferociously pounce upon insects or other spiders much larger than themselves which become entangled in their webs, they are by nature retiring and bite humans only when restrained from escape by contact with the body of man.
The fangs, which are about one-fiftieth of an inch in length, serve to inject from two large glands the venom which is reported to be much more virulent per unit than that of the rattlesnake.
There is some pain and swelling at the site of the bite. The pain spreads throughout the body, centering at the extremities, which become cramped, and over the abdomen, where the muscles become rigid. There is nausea and vomiting, difficulty in breathing, dizziness, ringing in the ears, and headache. Blood pressure is raised, eye pupils are dilated and the reflexes are overactive. Medical records, according to Bogen[2], show that “despite its severe symptoms, arachnidism (poisoning by spider, tick, or scorpion) is, in the majority of cases, a self-limiting condition, and generally clears up spontaneously within a few days,” although cases of death resulting from black widow bites are on record[3].
Since the venom of the black widow, among other properties, appears to affect the nervous system, its effect is almost instantaneous, and most first-aid measures are of little value.
Stahnke has found that the iced-water treatment (as described in detail in the scorpion section of this booklet) is beneficial. The points of puncture should be treated with iodine, the patient kept as quiet as possible, and an ice pack applied or the part submerged in iced-water, and a physician summoned immediately.
Baerg[4] recommends hot baths—as hot as the patient can endure. These should be used only in cases of advanced poisoning, never immediately after the bite is received.
Internal use of alcohol is dangerous, and a person bitten when intoxicated would have much less chance of recovery.
Professional treatment consists mostly in the use of opiates, hydrotherapy, and similar measures to alleviate the acute pain. Of more than 75 different remedies used, three seem to be outstanding as palliatives: spinal puncture, intravenous injections of Epsom salts, and intramuscular administration of convalescent serum when given within 8 hours. Dr. Charles Barton, of Los Angeles, recommends intramuscular or intravenous injection of calcium gluconate, 10 cc. in a 10 per cent solution. The patient should be encouraged to drink as much water as he will. He usually leaves the hospital on the fourth day. Recent experiments with an injection of neostigmine followed by one of atropine have had encouraging results, and the use of ACTH in several cases has had spectacular results, according to Readers’ Digest (Nov. 1951, p. 45).
Because of their wide distribution and secretive habits, black widows are difficult to control. Basements, outbuildings, and garages should be cleaned frequently, and black widow webs and eggs destroyed. If accessible, the spider may be dislodged from her web with a broom, and smashed. The use of a blowtorch, where there is no fire hazard, is effective for both spiders and egg cocoons. Insect sprays, in general, are ineffectual.
Until recently the black widow was considered the only spider in the United States dangerous to man. In 1955, physicians in Missouri and Arkansas began treating persons suffering from the bite of the brown recluse spider, whose poison caused serious damage to the skin at the site of the puncture and often produced a severe systemic reaction sometimes fatal to young children.
The spider is approximately ⁵/₁₆ inch in length, dark brown to fawn, with long legs. A violin-shaped spot on the upper side of the cephalothorax (head portion) is the only noticeable identification giving rise to another common name—fiddleback spider. It is also known as brown spider, or brown house spider.
Little has been published on its life history, but it has been reported from Kansas, Illinois, the Gulf Coast, and from Tennessee to Oklahoma. It is extending its territory westward and has recently been reported from southeastern New Mexico and southern California. People are contributing to the rapid geographical spread of this species by unknowingly carrying it across state lines in their luggage. The brown recluse spider, according to Paul N. Morgan, research microbiologist at the Little Rock, Arkansas, Veterans Administration Hospital, “constitutes a hazard to the health of man, perhaps greater than the Black Widow.”
Brown recluse spider (Photo—Division of Dermatology Dept. of Medicine U. of Arkansas Medical Center)
It is found in open fields and rocky bluffs but thrives particularly well in outhouses, garages, dark closets, storerooms, and in piles of sacking or old clothing. Its web is large and irregular.
Because of the spider’s nocturnal and retiring habits few people are bitten, in spite of a large spider population. According to an article in the August, 1963 Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society, “there may be mild transitory stinging at the time of the bite, but there is little associated early pain. The patient may be completely unaware he has been bitten, and the spider is seldom seen. Only after 2 to 8 hours does pain, varying from mild to severe, begin. After several days an ulcer may form at the site of the bite. The venom appears to contain a spreading factor resulting in a spread of the necrosis or tissue destruction. In some instances, the ulcer may be so large that skin grafting is required, but the graft may take poorly or not at all. “The bite may also produce serious systemic symptoms including fever, chills, weakness, vomiting, joint pain, and a spotty skin eruption, all occurring within 24-48 hours after the venom injection.”
Physicians at the University of Arkansas Medical Center, Little Rock, prefer the prompt administration of corticosteroids, stating, “Large doses given early may completely prevent the gangrenous response as well as the systemic reaction. The dosage schedule which we have found most effective is: 80 mg. of methylprednisolone (Deep-Medrol) intramuscularly immediately followed by one or two additional doses of same amount at 24-48 hour intervals. Subsequently, step wise decrease to 40, 20, 10 mg., every 24-48 hours, depending on the patient’s response, is carried out.”
Dr. Herbert L Stahnke, Director of the Arizona Poisonous Animals Research Laboratory, reports that an antivenin has been prepared in South America to control both the local and general symptoms from the bite of a closely related species of Loxosceles. He states, “locally there seems to be a favorable response to hydroxyzine, 100 mg. four times a day. I would say that cryotherapy, as we recommend it, would prevent all symptoms. I would recommend that the site of the bite be packed in crushed ice for 6 to 8 hours, after which the patient should be kept warm to the point of perspiration with the ice pack continuing for a total of 24 hours. In other words, treated like a pit viper bite, but over a much shorter period of time.” Avoid narcotics (morphine, demerol, dilaudid, codeine, etc.) since they enhance the systemic effects.
Although the brown recluse has not yet been reported in Arizona, it may be expected at any time, according to Dr. Mont A. Cazier, professor of zoology at Arizona State University at Tempe. In the meantime, studies are being made of the several close relatives of Loxosceles reclusa known to be present in the state. Among these is L. unicolor, first collected near Littlefield and Virgin Narrows in 1932. Equally poisonous with reclusa is the similar L. laeta, also found in Arizona. Other members of the genus, L. deserta and L. arizonica, have been known to live in Arizona and elsewhere in the Southwest for more than three decades, but no studies have been made of their venom. Dr. Willis J. Gertsch, world famous authority on spiders, believes that there may be as many as 20 species of Loxosceles in the Southwest. Several reports by persons who have been bitten by spiders describe reactions similar to those caused by the bite of the brown recluse.
According to Dr. Findley E. Russell, toxicology researcher of the University of Southern California Medical School, the “venom” injected by the brown spider is not really a toxin but a complete chemical that inhibits the normal action of infection-fighting antibodies in the human anatomy.