“I think that this impression that we have, to see more or to have the impression of having more this year than the year before, it may speak more of us, then about our relationship to these animals than real trends for their population,” said André-Philippe Picard flag, insectarium research agent, in an interview.
Mr. Drapeau Picard says he has received similar comments compared to mosquitoes or wasps, other groups of insects that do not attract a “big capital of sympathy”.
However, it is normal to notice the spiders more at the end of July and in August, because spiders are growing over the season.
“It is not necessarily that there are more at this time of the year. In fact, there are surely less than at the beginning of the summer, where they come out of their hundreds of egg bags, then there is a lot of mortality among young people and very young spiders. But those who go until the end of the summer, they become quite large, “said Drapeau Picard.
He said it is certain types of spiders that are particularly visible, such as those of the Araneid family, such as clay and speakers, which remain in their canvas.
“They are passing in a passive way, so they are waiting for there to be prey that take themselves in their canvas, which makes them all the easier to observe and see day after day.”
— André-Philippe Drapeau Picard, insectarium research agent
Spiders have a life cycle that extends over a year in Quebec, said the research agent. They often spend winter at the egg stadium, in an egg bag, before hatching in the spring. Young spiders, named Arabiles, are numerous at the start of the season, but many die because of predators, diseases, or cannibalism between spiders.
Surviving spiders reach their sexual maturity towards the end of the summer. They can therefore currently reproduce, and females will lay eggs that can hatch in the spring, detailed Mr. Drapeau Picard.
Are spiders dangerous?
Even if they are not very popular, spiders do not represent real health issues for humans in Quebec, said Drapeau Picard.
All spiders are poisonous because they inject venom to neutralize their prey, he explains. However, this venom is not powerful enough to represent a danger for humans, where it is not in sufficient quantity, since spiders are small in Quebec.
“Given their small size, their cherries, the names of their fangs with which they will inject the venom, of the majority of spiders in Quebec are not even large enough to unravel human skin,” said Mr. Drapeau Picard.
The research agent specifies that it remains possible to be bitten by a spider, and that this can be unpleasant in the case of the biggest spiders, in the same way as a wasp bite, for example.
Mr. Drapeau Picard maintains that “the benefits that spiders bring us are much greater than risks”.
“Especially in Quebec, spiders are generalist predators, so they will feed on all kinds of things, including insects in the fields. They will help reduce the abundance of sting insects. This is why we see a lot of spiders who make their paintings on the bridges, for example, or close to water, it is because this is where several insects are reproduced, “he said.
Why are they so little appreciated?
Mr. Drapeau Picard said that insectarium was involved in projects in which it was a question of why humans are afraid of spiders.
“Based on the observation that spiders are not really dangerous for humans, why is it a fear that is so widespread? Because it was true that it is one of the animal phobias that is the most widespread in the world, “he said, specifying, however, that he believes that hunting spiders can be considered cute with their two big eyes.
Mr. Drapeau Picard said they wondered whether the fear of spiders came from evolution. “On the other hand, in the region which is considered to be the cradle of humanity, there are few dangerous spiders,” he said, making this therefore unlikely that there was an evolutionary advantage.
The other explanation concerning the origin of the fear of spiders is rather on the side of culture: it would therefore be acquired rather than innate.
“We know this in several works of fiction, spiders often have the bad role or are associated with evil creatures that are scary,” said Mr. Picard. He stressed that the tone used by the media to talk about spiders can be sensationalist, which can contribute to the fear of these arthropods.
