Tuesday, April 5, 2011
When she was in the sixth grade, Rachel Newby was bitten by a brown recluse spider. The spider, which was in Newby’s bed, bit her twice. Now Newby, a freshman from Washington, D.C., has an indention on her right knee — an eraser-sized scar that’s a reminder of the venomous spider that bit her seven years ago.
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, Minn., is an arachnologist who found migration patterns of brown recluse spiders for about the next 70 years.
Brown recluse spiders, known for their distinctive shape and skin-deteriorating bite, are prevalent in Kansas, said Erin Saupe, a doctoral student in geology from St. Cloud, Minn. There might be some slightly reassuring news for future generations. By 2080, said Saupe, Kansas brown recluse spiders may not even exist anymore.
Saupe and other KU researchers have developed an estimation of the climatic preferences of the brown recluse, using a system they call “ecological niche modeling.” Through this modeling, Saupe has developed a way to determine the climates recluses prefer, where they are in the United States, and what areas the recluses may inhabit in the future. Saupe said that the recluse is expected to move to other areas of the country in the future.
Saupe began the project about two years ago as a master’s project. The findings of the research team’s work were published on March 25. Saupe hopes the group’s findings can make a difference in the medical field.
“The brown recluse is obviously very important,” Saupe said. “Its bites can cause tissue death and limb loss.”
Video
Brown recluse spiders move north
If you are scared of spiders, Kansas may not be the best place for you to live. KUJH-TV reporter Katasha Kumar tells you where you are most likely to find them.
But, she said, some doctors diagnose brown recluse bites in areas where the recluse doesn’t normally habitate. Saupe said medical professionals in these areas often misdiagnose serious diseases like lymphoma and Lyme disease as brown recluse bites.
“With this data, we can confirm and attest where they are, based on the climatic data we’ve gathered,” Saupe said.
Paul Selden, professor of geology, was part of the research team. He said the project would help inform the public where brown recluses are prevalent.
“We knew the project would be interesting,” he said. “We were hoping it will spread the word to medics and the public that they should understand these things better.”
Weston Pletcher
The Brown Recluse spider is well-known in Kansas, but recent research finds that the species is slowly spreading across the United States.
Patty Quinlan, nursing supervisor at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said the center sees about three brown recluse bites per year. She said the bites spike in the fall and winter, when spiders and other insects try to get indoors to take shelter from the cold weather.
Quinlan said the bites are treated with antibiotics. She said there’s a risk of infection from the spider and the dead tissue caused by the spider’s venom.
“It’s quite a nasty bite,” she said.
Ian Cummings contributed to this story.
— Edited by Caroline Bledowski
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New findings can help spider bite treatment
Am I the only one who read the headline and thought "Spider-man!"?
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