tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/deadly-australia-23275/articlesDeadly Australia – The Conversation2017-01-25T19:55:08Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/714902017-01-25T19:55:08Z2017-01-25T19:55:08ZWelcome to Australia, a land of creatures out to kill you… maybe<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153799/original/image-20170123-30975-1knhb1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Just another of Australia's creepy crawlies... but will it kill you?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ddimarco/13647703535/">Flickr/</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Welcome to Australia, a place that is the focus of regular reports that nearly <a href="http://www.natgeotv.com/uk/australias-deadliest-attacks">every creature is ready and waiting to pounce</a>. If it rains, it brings <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/news/forbes-flooding-residents-warned-to-stay-out-of-water-due-to-presence-of-snakes/news-story/2b2d160cb68ce3a3de2c5e5e5e4a1a8a">warnings of venomous snakes</a>. If the weather is dry, then giant spiders can set up house in your <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3200356/Massive-spider-gives-homeowner-shock-covering-electricity-meter-HUNDREDS-creepy-babies.html">power box</a>.</p>
<p>But as Australia prepares once again to welcome many new citizens this Australia Day, it seems appropriate to take a closer look at how deadly our creatures really are.</p>
<p>There is no doubt Australia harbours <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/bites-and-stings">venomous animals and encounters</a> that can be traumatic and need a rapid emergency response.</p>
<p>We must we careful not to understate the impact of any encounters with venomous animals on families and the sufferers themselves. Nor must we play down the highly specialised management, effective treatment and medical care required.</p>
<p>But is this reputation of a land of deadly and aggressive creatures well founded?</p>
<h2>Detail in the data</h2>
<p>My colleagues and I recently published a review of hospital admissions and deaths caused by venomous animals in the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/imj.13297/abstract">Internal Medical Journal</a>.</p>
<p>We sourced data from 2001-2013 from national hospital admissions and national coronial information, which showed more than 42,000 hospitalisations from venomous sting or bites. Most – not all – are shown in the graph, below.</p>
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<p>Over the 12 years that’s an average 3,500 people admitted to hospital every year for a venom-related injury. This can be loosely averaged 0.01% of the Australian population per year, or roughly one in 10,000 Australians.</p>
<p>Allergy or anaphylaxis from insect stings such as bees or wasps were responsible for about one-third (33%) of hospital admissions, followed by spider bites (30%) and snake bites (15%).</p>
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<p>Over the 12 years, 64 people were killed by a venomous sting or bite, with more than half of these (34) caused by an allergic reaction to an insect bite that brought on anaphylactic shock.</p>
<p>Of these, 27 deaths were the result of a bee or wasp sting, with only one case of a beekeeper being killed. Anaphylaxis to tick and ant bites combined caused five deaths, the box jellyfish caused three deaths and two deaths were from an unidentified insect. </p>
<p>Given there are 140 species of land snakes in Australia, snake bite fatalities are very rare, at 27 for the study period. To put that in perspective, the World Health Organization estimates that <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs337/en/">at least 100,000 people die</a> from snake bite globally each year. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153813/original/image-20170123-8062-p344v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153813/original/image-20170123-8062-p344v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153813/original/image-20170123-8062-p344v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153813/original/image-20170123-8062-p344v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153813/original/image-20170123-8062-p344v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153813/original/image-20170123-8062-p344v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153813/original/image-20170123-8062-p344v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153813/original/image-20170123-8062-p344v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The red belly black snake is not as nasty as it looks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/derekarlanyoung/5153325876/">Flickr/Derek A Young</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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<p>While it’s natural to be frightened of snakes, the reality is the number of deaths from snake bites in Australia is very small. In the same time frame, for example, figures from the National Coronial Information System (<a href="http://www.ncis.org.au/">NCIS</a>) show nearly 5,000 people died from drowning and 1,000 from burns in Australia. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, snake bites do hold the crown as the most common cause of death, with nearly twice as many deaths per hospital admission than any other venomous injury, making snakebite one of the most important issues to address.</p>
<h2>Deadly creatures elsewhere</h2>
<p>Understandably, living in a country with creatures that can potentially kill us is a daunting prospect. As you can see from the figures, though, they don’t kill as many people as you might think and other countries have their own potentially deadly creatures.</p>
<p>In the United Kingdom there are reports of deaths or injuries from <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-37825677">bees</a>, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/grandmother-dies-after-being-bitten-by-false-widow-spider-9851990.html">widow spiders</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-36922987">jellyfish</a> and <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/boy-3-bitten-snake-uk-8106059">adder snakes</a>.</p>
<p>The continent of America has a menagerie of reptilian assassins such as vipers, and its mammals also pack a punch, with reports of attacks from <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-20/63yo-us-woman-survives-bear-attack/8040478">bears</a>, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/35913715/ns/us_news-life/t/fatal-wolf-attack-unnerves-alaska-village/#.WIVqpbb5hVo">wolves</a> and <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/18/us/colorado-mountain-lion-attack/">mountain lions</a>.</p>
<p>A sturdy Australian would surely quake at the thought of being faced with an offensive grizzly, with no amount of Crocodile Dundee-esk buffalo hypnotism techniques going to get us through that encounter.</p>
<p>Sure Australia also has sharks and crocodiles, but it’s important to note that the majority of our critters do not come after you.</p>
<h2>Minimising the minimal risk</h2>
<p>Our report, while giving a broad overview of envenoming trends in Australia, does raise more questions than it answers. Questions such as: who is most at risk and how can we support them? Do we need more localised guidelines? And how do we maintain knowledge for such a rare injury?</p>
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<span class="caption">No one died from a spider bite during the 12 years of our study.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/corrieb/4505369450/">Flickr/Corrie Barklimore</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>This work seeks to initiate new conversations in regard to potential gaps in knowledge in both the public and health domains, and find solutions. We’re currently seeking funding to continue this research.</p>
<p>From an individual or national public health perspective, we can’t make informed decisions until we have a much clearer picture of what’s going on. The big question is how can we manage this coexistence with the creatures around us, without being detrimental to people and the creatures themselves. </p>
<p>It comes down to understanding, appreciating and respecting the amazing diversity nature has provided us. We need to learn about prevention methods and understand correct first aid.</p>
<p>This, together with the ongoing research and improvements in clinical care and the accessibility, affordability, effective management and treatment of bites and stings in Australia, actually make it one of the safest places in the world, and certainly not one of the deadliest.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71490/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ronelle Welton receives funding from NHMRC </span></em></p>Australia’s snakes, spiders and other venomous critters tend to strike fear in many people. But is Australia’s reputation as a nation of deadly creatures deserved?Ronelle Welton, Research Fellow, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty and Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/508532016-01-14T19:20:56Z2016-01-14T19:20:56ZSuffering for science: why I have insects sting me to create a pain index<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104506/original/image-20151204-14451-1bdiqh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Smoky, almost irreverent. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Justin Schmidt</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past 40 years (but in reality since I was five years old), I’ve been fascinated with insects and their ability to sting and cause pain. In graduate school, I became interested in why they sting and why stings from such tiny animals hurt so much. </p>
<p>To answer these questions, we first needed a way to measure pain – so, I invented the <a href="http://www.improbable.com/ig/winners/">insect pain scale</a>. The scale is based on a thousand or so personal stings from over 80 insect groups, plus ratings by various colleagues. </p>
<p>Insects sting to improve their lives and increase their opportunities. The stings provide protection, thereby opening doors to more food resources, expanded territories, and social life within colonies. By studying stinging insects, we gain insight into our own lives and the societies we live in.</p>
<h2>Why sting?</h2>
<p>To say that insects sting “because they can” isn’t all that helpful. The real question is why insects evolved a stinger in the first place. Obviously, it had some value, otherwise it would have never evolved – or, if initially present, it would have been lost through natural selection. </p>
<p>Stingers have two major uses: to get food and to avoid becoming food for some other animal. Examples of the stinger used for sustenance include parasitic wasps that sting and paralyse caterpillars that become food for the <a href="http://what-when-how.com/insects/venom-insects/">wasp young</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrmecia_%28ant%29">bulldog ants</a> that sting difficult prey insects to subdue them.</p>
<p>More importantly, the stinger is a major breakthrough in defence against large predators. Imagine, for a moment, that you’re an average-sized insect being attacked by a predator a million times larger than you. What chance would you have? </p>
<p>Honeybees face this problem with honey-loving bears. Biting, scratching or kicking won’t work. But a stinger with painful venom often does. </p>
<p>In this sense, the stinging insect has found a way to overcome its small size. The stinger is an “insect gun” of sorts – it neutralises the size difference between assailant and victim.</p>
<h2>The insect sting pain index</h2>
<p>This is where the insect sting pain index comes in. Unless we have numbers to compare and analyse, sting observations are just anecdotes and stories. With numbers, we can compare the effectiveness of one stinging insect’s painful defence against others and test hypotheses. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108106/original/image-20160114-10417-1ogmbun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108106/original/image-20160114-10417-1ogmbun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1040&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108106/original/image-20160114-10417-1ogmbun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1040&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108106/original/image-20160114-10417-1ogmbun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1040&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108106/original/image-20160114-10417-1ogmbun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1307&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108106/original/image-20160114-10417-1ogmbun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1307&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108106/original/image-20160114-10417-1ogmbun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1307&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>One hypothesis is that painful stings provide a way for small insects to defend themselves and their young against large mammalian, bird, reptile or amphibian predators. The greater the pain, the better the defence.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248414000591">Greater defence</a> allows insects to form groups and become complex societies as we see in ants and social wasps and bees. The greater the pain, the larger the society can become. And larger societies have advantages not enjoyed by solitary individuals or smaller societies.</p>
<h2>Human and insect societies</h2>
<p>Human sociality allows individuals to specialise and do a particular task better than most others. Examples of human specialists include plumbers, chefs, doctors, farmers, teachers, lawyers, soldiers, rugby players and even politicians (a profession sometimes viewed dubiously, but required for society to function).</p>
<p>Social insect societies also have specialists. They forage for food, tend to young, defend the colony, reproduce and even serve as undertakers removing the dead. Another advantage of societies is the ability to recruit others to exploit a large food source, or for the common defence, or to have additional helpers for difficult tasks.</p>
<p>Sociality also has a more subtle advantage: it reduces conflict between individuals within a species. Individuals not living in social groups tend to fight when they come in contact. But to live in a group, conflict must be reduced. </p>
<p>In many social animals, conflict is reduced by establishing a pecking order. Often, if the dominant individual in the pecking order is removed, violent battles erupt. </p>
<p>In human societies, conflict is also reduced via pecking order, but more importantly through laws, police to enforce laws, and gossip and societal teachings to instil co-operative behaviour. In insect societies, conflict is reduced by establishing pecking orders and pheromones, chemical odours that identify individuals and their place in society.</p>
<h2>Why do we love pain?</h2>
<p>The insect sting pain index also provides a window into human psychology and emotion. Put simply: humans are fascinated by stinging insects. We delight in telling stories of being stung, harrowing near-misses, or even our fear of stinging insects. </p>
<p>Why? Because we have a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513814001032">genetically innate</a> fear of animals that attack us, be they leopards, bears, snakes, spiders or stinging insects. </p>
<p>People lacking such fear stand a greater chance of being eaten or dying of envenomation and not passing on their genetic lineage than those who are more fearful. </p>
<p>Stinging insects cause us fear because they produce pain. And pain is our body’s way of telling us that bodily damage is occurring, has occurred, or is about to occur. Damage is bad and harms our lives and ability to reproduce. </p>
<p>In other words, our emotional fear and infatuation with painful stinging insects enhances our long-term survival. Yet, we have little emotional fear of cigarettes or sugary, fatty foods, both of which kill many more people than painfully stinging insects. Fear of those killers is not in our genes. </p>
<p>The insect sting pain index is more than just fun (which it is too). It provides a window into understanding ourselves, how we evolved to where we are, and what we might expect in the future.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article is the final part of our series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/deadly-australia">Deadly Australia</a>. You can see the whole series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/deadly-australia">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50853/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin Schmidt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>To understand why insects sting and why the stings of such tiny animals hurt so much, we first needed a way to measure the pain they cause. So I created a sting pain index.Justin Schmidt, Entomologist, Southwest Biological Institute, University of ArizonaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/510242016-01-14T19:20:28Z2016-01-14T19:20:28ZAnts, bees and wasps: the venomous Australians with a sting in their tails<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105711/original/image-20151214-1626-17mv4cj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some of the most common painful stingers in the Australian bush are bulldog ants of the genus _Myrmecia_.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dremsen/2960397425/">David Remsen/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The prize for the most painful and sometimes deadly (more on that later) stings in the insect kingdom goes to … wasps, bees and ants. </p>
<p>There are many insects that bite, such as beetles and dragonflies, or suck your blood with long hypodermic mouthparts (mosquitoes, for instance, and sandflies). But none of these are deadly in themselves. </p>
<p>Mosquitoes do transmit deadly diseases, such as malaria and dengue. But it’s not the mosquito bite as such that kills; it’s the tiny parasitic microorganism that the mosquito transmits.</p>
<p>It’s really bees, wasps and ants – a group known as Hymenoptera – that can claim the title of deadliest insects. How did they evolve to be so painful?</p>
<h2>How insects stings evolved</h2>
<p>Many wasps are parasitic and developed long pointy hypodermic needles (or ovipositors) to inject their eggs into their hosts. Over evolutionary time, some of these parasitic wasps changed their lifestyle and became predatory. Some even went on to feed on pollen and nectar (bees). </p>
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<span class="caption">A worker bee can sting a person only once.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/microworld/4149130141/">吉輝 温/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>What happened to the ovipositor when wasps no longer needed to inject eggs? It became a pointy sting, a device for subduing prey with venom, as well as laying eggs. </p>
<p>It’s important to remember that only female wasps, bees and ants can sting; males don’t have the right apparatus. </p>
<p>Many of these stinging wasps, bees and ants have also become highly social insects. This means they live in large colonies such as honeybee hives, or ant nests. In these colonies, generally only a pair (a queen and a male drone, in the case of honeybees) or a few individuals reproduce. </p>
<p>All the rest are genetically and anatomically sterile females, and they do all the work inside and outside the hive or nest. These workers no longer need an ovipositor to lay eggs and it has become their primary weapon of choice, solely devoted to defence of the nest. </p>
<p>Workers use the sting to defend the wasp or bee nest, or ant colony. Queen bees lay eggs with their ovipositor and can also sting, but are usually tucked away in the nest far from harm. </p>
<p>Worker bees can sting humans only once – their barbed sting lodges in our skin and doesn’t retract, so the entire sting and the poison gland breaks free from the bee when it stings. The worker bee dies soon after and releases alarm pheromone, which alerts other workers that the nest is under threat. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105705/original/image-20151214-1656-1s31flf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105705/original/image-20151214-1656-1s31flf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105705/original/image-20151214-1656-1s31flf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105705/original/image-20151214-1656-1s31flf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105705/original/image-20151214-1656-1s31flf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105705/original/image-20151214-1656-1s31flf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105705/original/image-20151214-1656-1s31flf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A very good way of provoking a large number of European (or any other) wasps is to disturb their nest.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/125619820@N03/19463974605/">Ziva & Amir/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>More bees sting and release more alarm pheromones, attracting more alarmed bees … you get the picture. If you’re stung, remove the sting as soon as possible – this minimises the amount of venom injected.</p>
<p>A very small number of people (about one or two in every 100) can become hypersensitive after a bee sting. They become allergic to the venom, and their reaction becomes stronger when stung in future. </p>
<p>A highly allergic person may suffer anaphylactic shock from the sting, which can be life-threatening and requires medical treatment. A self-injecting EpiPen containing adrenalin is used to treat anaphylactic shock. </p>
<h2>The most painful</h2>
<p>Another common introduced stinger in Australia is the European wasp, <em>Vespula germanica</em>. This wasp’s sting doesn’t get stuck in our skin, so they can inflict multiple stings when annoyed or provoked. A very good way of provoking a large number of European (or any other) wasps is to disturb their nest – <em>never do this.</em> </p>
<p>A very small percentage of people can also develop an allergic reaction to European wasp stings, just like honeybee stings. In severe cases, this can cause anaphylactic shock.</p>
<p>Arizona entomologist Justin O. Schmidt developed the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150312-the-worlds-most-painful-insect-sting">Schmidt Pain Index</a> 30 years ago to rank the painfulness of wasp, bee and ant stings on a four-point scale. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108104/original/image-20160114-10419-qgp56k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108104/original/image-20160114-10419-qgp56k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1040&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108104/original/image-20160114-10419-qgp56k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1040&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108104/original/image-20160114-10419-qgp56k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1040&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108104/original/image-20160114-10419-qgp56k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1307&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108104/original/image-20160114-10419-qgp56k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1307&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108104/original/image-20160114-10419-qgp56k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1307&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Zero on the Schmidt pain index is the feeling of an insect that can’t sting you, such as Australia’s native stingless bees. Two is the familiar pain of a honeybee. Four is reserved for just a few heavy hitters, such as a very large spider-killing wasp, or the infamous bullet ant (<em>Paraponera clavata</em>) of South America. </p>
<p>The notorious and excruciating pain of the bullet ant lasts for 24 hours. Schmidt has been stung by more than 100 insects to create his scale, and was awarded the <a href="http://www.ecology.uga.edu/alumni.php?Schmidt_PhD_Entomology_77_wins_2015_Ig_Nobel_Prize-83/">2015 Ig Nobel Biology Prize</a> for his efforts.</p>
<p>Some of the most common painful stingers in the Australian bush are native bulldog ants of the genus <em>Myrmecia</em>. These are some of the largest ants in the world and combine a painful sting with an aggressive, take-no-prisoners attitude. On top of this, many species can jump. They rate up to three on the Schmidt Pain Index. </p>
<p>Bulldog or jack-jumper ants have impressive long, toothed and curved jaws, but it’s the sting at the end of their abdomen that does the damage. </p>
<p>My most painful memory as a boy was annoying a bulldog ant nest in the Sydney bushland with a stick. Eventually a huge worker bulldog ant crawled up out of sight underneath my stick and gave me a sting on the thumb I thoroughly deserved – and will never forget.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article is the last of our series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/deadly-australia">Deadly Australia</a>. You can see the whole series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/deadly-australia">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51024/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Yeates currently receives funding from CSIRO, The Schlinger Foundation, The Australian Biological Resources Study and the US National Science Foundation.</span></em></p>Bees, wasps and ants – a group known as Hymenoptera – can claim the title of deadliest insects. How did they evolve to be so painful?David Yeates, Director of the Australian National Insect Collection, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/510502016-01-13T19:11:08Z2016-01-13T19:11:08ZAnimal venoms don’t just cause pain, they may soon be a cure for it too<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107875/original/image-20160112-6972-11grph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research into their molecular components shows venoms aren't all bad.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/walterpro/6284607266/">Walter/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Bites or stings from venomous animals or insects can be dangerous; they lead to numerous fatalities globally each year despite the development of antivenoms that can neutralise many of their worst effects. </p>
<p>But research into their molecular components shows venoms aren’t all bad. Many contain bioactive components (mini-proteins or peptides) that are so stable to the body’s enzymes and selective of their biological target that they’re increasingly being used as new research tools. </p>
<p>They’re even being used as <a href="http://www.imb.uq.edu.au/download/large/Venom_therapeutics.pdf">lead molecules in drug development</a> efforts around the world.</p>
<p>Because of their often unique mode of action and exquisite selectivity, many of these peptides have the potential to identify new targets and approaches to treating diseases, especially where traditional approaches have failed. </p>
<p>Indeed, the fact that many venomous animals have evolved not just hundreds but often thousands of unique peptides makes venoms a largely untapped chemical treasure chest.</p>
<h2>Blood clotting and pain killing</h2>
<p>Two clinical areas where animal venom peptides have been particularly successful are in blood clotting and pain. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107870/original/image-20160112-6961-ge47o0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107870/original/image-20160112-6961-ge47o0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107870/original/image-20160112-6961-ge47o0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107870/original/image-20160112-6961-ge47o0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107870/original/image-20160112-6961-ge47o0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107870/original/image-20160112-6961-ge47o0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107870/original/image-20160112-6961-ge47o0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Snakes have evolved a range of toxins that either enhance or inhibit the rate at which blood clots.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/krossbow/462139032/">F Delventhal/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Snakes, in particular, have evolved a range of toxins that either enhance or inhibit the rate at which blood clots. Given most snake venom has evolved to prey on small mammals, it’s not surprising they also work on human blood. </p>
<p>When purified, these components can be developed into therapeutics to be used at the right dose and clinical setting, such as stopping bleeding during surgery.</p>
<p>Perhaps more surprising are the analgesic or pain-killing effects of venom peptides. Here, the most promising leads for developing drugs come from venomous invertebrates such as cone snails, spiders and scorpions that don’t prey on mammals. </p>
<h2>Cone snail secrets</h2>
<p>It seems some groups of animals have evolved venom components specifically for defence against vertebrate threats and not for predation. This was initially discovered in cone snails, which are marine molluscs that live mostly in warmer waters.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107970/original/image-20160113-8434-o6o7mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107970/original/image-20160113-8434-o6o7mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107970/original/image-20160113-8434-o6o7mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107970/original/image-20160113-8434-o6o7mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107970/original/image-20160113-8434-o6o7mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107970/original/image-20160113-8434-o6o7mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107970/original/image-20160113-8434-o6o7mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cone snails are marine molluscs that live mostly in warmer waters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rling/438038385/">Richard Ling/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These snails have evolved different venoms in different sections of their venom duct. Amazingly, these venoms can be <a href="http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140324/ncomms4521/full/ncomms4521.html">separately deployed</a>, depending on whether the cone snail has identified a threat or prey. Analgesic peptides are concentrated in <a href="http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140324/ncomms4521/full/ncomms4521.html">the venom they use to defend</a> against larger invertebrate threats, such as octopus, and even fish. </p>
<p>Cone snail venoms contain relatively small and highly structured peptides, and the first marine drug found to be a painkiller – ω-conotoxin MVIIA or Prialt – comes from this venom. Another class of cone snail venom peptide called χ-conotoxins – originally discovered in Australia – also holds promise as a new class of analgesic. </p>
<p>There’s much untapped potential to find and validate new therapeutic targets and even to find leads to important new classes of drugs from venoms. This promise, coupled with our ability to apply technology that can help deliver peptides into the central nervous system, is expected to drive the expansion of venom peptide discovery efforts into the clinic.</p>
<p><em>This article is part of our series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/deadly-australia">Deadly Australia</a>. Stay tuned for more pieces on the topic in the coming days.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51050/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Lewis receives funding from the NHMRC and ARC</span></em></p>Many venoms contain bioactive components that are so stable to the body’s enzymes and selective of their biological target that they’re increasingly being used as novel research tools.Richard Lewis, Professor & Director, Centre for Pain Research, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/508422016-01-13T19:11:00Z2016-01-13T19:11:00ZLittle shop of horrors: the Australian plants that can kill you<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106215/original/image-20151216-25624-1lovqtc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The national flower of Zimbabwe, the Glory Lily, is also found in Queensland where it's more famously known as a noxious weed that's highly poisonous to humans.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnske/8213403234/in/photolist-dUdxyR-7BZFmg-2kumWS-PfzQp-PfDUV-2iXTMq-ZqCUH-2c5zYC-ip2C6s-xtDaA-q6duat-dvMQCA-9ZyxfF-9akoSc-8jQzaX-931xu7-iWrEJE-4oVSA9-db4SpL-22fiwC-6VEJJn-6mS577-2jD21h-2duVi6-NYPC2-8HiWgF-Sweeh-dugbVG-hV5Y21-6itcVH-21jbQN-Swe9S-hpy1zn-981EdA-TiXYa-YtLW9-6NuXJA-6NuWsd-9xVKgH-od8ktK-qa8htf-9ex8am-9yst5k">JohnSkewes/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia is so famous for its dangerous creatures that visitors often arrive fearful that everything that moves is out to get them. In a land where snakes, spiders, shells and even one of the iconic mammals – the platypus – can bite or sting, should we all be worried about plants as well? </p>
<p>Plants around the world produce a staggering diversity of chemicals and many of these are potentially toxic to animals including humans, sometimes even upon contact. Many of these toxins have evolved to protect plant roots, leaves and unripe fruits from being eaten by herbivores, particularly insects and browsing mammals. </p>
<p>Australia’s toxic plants are not terribly appealing or nutritious for humans. If someone is poisoned, it’s usually accidental, and <a href="http://www.schn.health.nsw.gov.au/parents-and-carers/fact-sheets/poisonous-plants">many victims are curious children</a>. </p>
<p>There are <a href="http://anpsa.org.au/APOL7/sep97-4.html">many historical records</a> of plant poisoning in Australia involving early explorers and settlers who were short of supplies or looking for new sources of food. Today, though, plant poisoning accounts for <a href="http://www.austin.org.au/Assets/Files/VPIC%20Annual%20Report%202014.pdf">less than 1% of calls</a> to poisons information lines in Australia. </p>
<h2>Animals beware</h2>
<p>The threat of poisoning to livestock is <a href="http://www.mla.com.au/Research-and-development/Animal-health-welfare-biosecurity/Poisonings/Toxic-plants">much more substantial</a> and causes significant economic and animal welfare impacts. </p>
<p>It’s in the interests of cattle and sheep to become expert botanists, but even experts can get things wrong when confronted with something they’ve never seen before. Most livestock poisonings occur when animals are moving through new country or are put into new paddocks with unfamiliar plants.</p>
<p>Native plants that kill significant numbers of livestock include Cooktown ironwood in northern Australia (as little as 50 grams of leaf can contain a quantity of alkaloids that can kill a bull) and the poison peas and heart-leafed poison bush of Western Australia and Queensland respectively (<em>Gastrolobium</em>), which contain a deadly metabolic poison, sodium fluoroacetate.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, introduced pasture weeds such as fireweed, <em>Senecio madagasciarensis</em>, and Paterson’s curse, <em>Echium plantagenium</em>, pose significant threats to cattle, sheep and horses.</p>
<h2>It’s in the dose</h2>
<p>The adage that “the poison is in the dose” is correct in that small amounts of most poisonous plants are unlikely to cause permanent damage or death, although there are exceptions. Indeed, most herbivores have to tolerate some exposure to plant poisons because they’re so widespread among the plants they eat. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108120/original/image-20160114-2365-yr2vsl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108120/original/image-20160114-2365-yr2vsl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=2058&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108120/original/image-20160114-2365-yr2vsl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=2058&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108120/original/image-20160114-2365-yr2vsl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=2058&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108120/original/image-20160114-2365-yr2vsl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=2586&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108120/original/image-20160114-2365-yr2vsl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=2586&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108120/original/image-20160114-2365-yr2vsl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=2586&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>Small amounts of some toxic compounds can even be beneficial and sometimes have traditional or medical uses. Aboriginal people, for instance, used <em>Duboisia hopwoodii</em> and other native tobacco species (<em>Nicotiana</em>) to produce a powerful and widely traded stimulant, pituri, the active ingredient of which is the potent alkaloid, nicotine. </p>
<p>Similarly, atropine, an alkaloid found in Angels’ trumpets and thorn-apple (<em>Brugmansia</em> and <em>Datura</em> species) is a powerful hallucinogen and toxin. But it’s also a valuable drug used to treat some heart and nervous conditions, as well as poisoning by some other plant alkaloids and cardiac glycosides. </p>
<p>Knowing what dose of poison a plant contains is not always easy. How much toxin an individual plant contains can vary with season, the age of the plant, soil type, drought and the plant’s genes. Just as you may be tall and your next-door neighbour short, two plants of the same species growing alongside can vary in how much toxin they produce. </p>
<p>On top of that, different animal species and individual people and animals can also vary in their ability to tolerate poisons. This makes ingesting toxic plants a little like Russian roulette: there’s a strong element of chance.</p>
<h2>Deadly relatives</h2>
<p>A significant number of Australia’s more than 20,000 plants are potentially toxic. In many cases, Australia has species or subspecies of plants that are closely related to well-known toxic plants from elsewhere. But their relative toxicity is not well established. </p>
<p>The Indian suicide tree, <em>Cerbera odollum</em>, has been described as the “<a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn6701-suicide-tree-toxin-is-perfect-murder-weapon/">perfect murder weapon</a>”, for instance, but the toxicity of our native <em>Cerbera manghas</em> is less well understood, despite the fact it possesses the same cardiac poisons. </p>
<p>Similarly, how our native strychnine bushes <em>Strychnos lucida</em> and <em>S. psilosperma</em> compare to the better-known strychnine tree <em>S. nux-vomica</em> from India is not well known, but they do also produce strychnine. </p>
<p>Unless you’re a hungry ruminant, you’re probably unlikely to suffer death by plant poisoning in Australia, but the risk is nonetheless real. It pays to realise that garden plants and even common indoor plants are sometimes just as dangerous as what lurks in the bush. Parents and outdoorsy types should be aware of the risks posed by contact with or ingestion of plants.</p>
<p><em>This article is part of our series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/deadly-australia">Deadly Australia</a>. Stay tuned for more pieces on the topic in the coming days.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50842/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Moore receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>It’s not just Australia’s animals that can be deadly, there are plenty of dangerous plants too.Ben Moore, Senior Lecturer in Ecology, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/508442016-01-12T19:34:10Z2016-01-12T19:34:10ZDon’t go in the water: a world of pain awaits in Australia’s deep blue seas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107638/original/image-20160108-3329-1r0w3a7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The blue-ringed octopus is just one of many venomous creatures found in Australian waters. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Amber Hansen</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s reputation for deadly creatures of all kinds is known the world over. Tourists worry about it, and comedians have a field day with it. Here’s what Bill Bryson says in his book In a Sunburned Country:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[Australia] has more things that will kill you than anywhere else. Of the world’s ten most poisonous snakes, all are Australian. Five of its creatures – the funnel web spider, box jellyfish, blue-ringed octopus, paralysis tick and stonefish – are the most lethal of their type in the world.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Bryson certainly has a way with words. But, to be honest, he forgot a few things. </p>
<h2>The long list</h2>
<p>Australia has at least nine species of Irukandjis, a group of jellyfish so nasty that their drop-for-drop toxicity leaves the box jellyfish in the dust. </p>
<p>Impressive, considering the box jelly has long been considered the world’s most venomous animal. A massive sting from a box jelly kills in as little as two minutes; for other victims, it’s generally painful with some scarring, but that’s about it. </p>
<p>Irukandji, in contrast, with just an imperceptible brush of venom leaves almost no mark. But after about a half hour you develop <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irukandji_syndrome">Irukandji syndrome</a>, a debilitating mix of nausea, vomiting, severe pain, difficulty breathing, drenching sweating and sense of impending doom. You get so sick that your biggest worry is that you’re not going to die! </p>
<p>And that’s just the beginning: up to a third of victims require life support and a quarter have ongoing complications, including permanent heart damage or neurological damage.</p>
<p>Bryson also forgot the blue bottles that sting some 25,000 to 45,000 people each year in Australia, at least one species of which causes Irukandji syndrome. </p>
<p>And he forgot the bullrout, which is kind of a brackish-water version of the stonefish – caution, they hang out at boat ramps and these suckers hurt.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107700/original/image-20160111-8715-mzzq5u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107700/original/image-20160111-8715-mzzq5u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1549&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107700/original/image-20160111-8715-mzzq5u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1549&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107700/original/image-20160111-8715-mzzq5u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1549&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107700/original/image-20160111-8715-mzzq5u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1946&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107700/original/image-20160111-8715-mzzq5u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1946&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107700/original/image-20160111-8715-mzzq5u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1946&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>And stingrays, which combine stabbing and venom into the one injury. And the cone snail, which looks mild-mannered, but can imperil your life with one stab of its lightning-fast barb. </p>
<p>Then there are sea urchins and stinging hydroids and venomous sponges, which will put you in a world of hurt. But nobody ever thinks to include them. </p>
<p>And the sea snakes: if you get one in your fishing net, or your dive equipment, or your hair, remember the old adage “don’t grab a snake by its tail”. Well, I’m not sure if that’s an adage or not, but it should be. In fact, “don’t grab a snake” would be better. </p>
<p>Bryson also forgot the world’s only venomous mammal, the platypus: males have a venomous spur on the back legs, and they seriously hurt. And my new favourite, the arrow worm. Yes, the arrow worm.</p>
<p>Granted, there aren’t any reported deaths from arrow worms, but they deserve respect. They look like a beansprout with fish fins, with a fish tail at one end and rows of big scary spines at the other, which they use to grasp their food. And they “bite” with tetrodotoxin – the same venom that makes fugu (the pufferfish delicacy) and blue ring octopus so lethal.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/field-notes/2012/04/mute-swan-attacks-and-kills-man-chicago-pond">And swans</a>. Bryson forgot swans. At least <a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/61481559">three people</a> have reportedly been <a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/209910279">killed by swans</a>. I’m just sayin’. (Good news: these are not the native Australian black swans). </p>
<h2>But why?</h2>
<p>Okay, venomous beansprouts, swans and fear of not dying aside, what is it with Australia’s dangerous creatures? The typical explanation for powerful venoms is subduing dinner or dealing quickly with danger, especially for delicate creatures or those that aren’t able to track prey for long distances. </p>
<p>But certainly the box jellyfish’s venom is overkill, while the Irukandji takes too long. What’s more, fish don’t appear to get Irukandji syndrome … although I’ve never been sure how to tell if a fish is sweating. </p>
<p>Similarly, the dinner-or-danger hypothesis doesn’t seem to hold true for stabbing fish wounds, such as those delivered by stonefish, bullrouts and stingrays. Certainly, the stabbing must be far more effective than all but the most instant venom effects.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107471/original/image-20160107-14966-1wvf63g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107471/original/image-20160107-14966-1wvf63g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1694&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107471/original/image-20160107-14966-1wvf63g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1694&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107471/original/image-20160107-14966-1wvf63g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1694&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107471/original/image-20160107-14966-1wvf63g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=2128&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107471/original/image-20160107-14966-1wvf63g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=2128&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107471/original/image-20160107-14966-1wvf63g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=2128&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>But one must keep in mind that these creatures evolved their toxins long before <em>Homo sapiens</em> fossicked the tide pools or snorkelled the reefs. So although their venoms can harm us, this may just be coincidental.</p>
<p>A question that often arises is what effect climate change will have on these creatures or their venoms. Well, the answer is we really don’t know yet. </p>
<p>With regard to species, there will be winners and losers. Many of the venomous sea creatures are tropical, and many tropical species are expanding southward. To what extent this may put the more populated southerly areas at higher risk is still unclear. </p>
<p>One group, however, seems particularly poised to benefit: the jellyfishes. As warmer water stimulates their metabolism, they grow faster, eat more, breed more and live longer. Irukandjis and box jellyfish become more toxic as they mature, so getting there faster and staying there longer could have undesirable outcomes for sea users. </p>
<p>How, then, can we possibly navigate these dangers when curious sea snakes want to swim with us, duckbilled platypus, stones and beansprouts must be viewed with suspicion, blue is sounding like the new warning colour, invisible jellyfish will lay us flat, and even the swans, a symbol of romance, are scary?</p>
<h2>Four tips for keeping safe</h2>
<p>Rule 1: First and foremost, try to make it a rule never to touch an animal that isn’t a personal friend. This will prevent the vast majority of bite and sting injuries, and not just from sea creatures.</p>
<p>Rule 2: Do the stingray shuffle when moving in sandy water: drag your feet in such a way that you’re continuously kicking sand in front to where you’re about to step. This will scare most creatures away so that you don’t step on them.</p>
<p>Rule 3: Wear protective clothing (a full-body lycra suit, for instance) when swimming in areas where box jellyfish or Irukandjis may appear. If stung by box jellyfish or Irukandjis or unknown jellyfish in the tropics, douse with vinegar to neutralise undischarged stinging cells.</p>
<p>Rule 4: Don’t try to make friends with swans.</p>
<p>Finally, read the <a href="http://resus.org.au/">Australian Resuscitation Council website</a> for the latest on prevention and first aid for bites and stings.</p>
<p><em>This article is part of our series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/deadly-australia">Deadly Australia</a>. Stay tuned for more pieces on the topic in the coming days.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50844/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa-ann Gershwin is the Director of the Australian Marine Stinger Advisory Services, and has previously received funding from the Australian Biological Resources Study (Environment Australia). </span></em></p>From stingers to swans, Australia’s oceans are full of (potentially) deadly wildlife.Lisa-ann Gershwin, Research scientist, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/510292016-01-12T19:34:04Z2016-01-12T19:34:04ZDeadly but cuddly? Australia’s venomous creatures don’t actually deter tourists<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107866/original/image-20160112-6992-dfhn3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Inviting, but don't go in. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stinger sign image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Part of the allure of visiting Australia is its unique animals. Cuddly koalas, inquisitive kangaroos and colourful birds are often featured in international promotions. </p>
<p>However, not all Australian animals are as friendly as <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/simoncrerar/pictures-that-prove-australia-is-the-craziest#.yrj4AvwV9j">kangaroos and koalas</a>. Snakes, sharks, spiders, poisonous fish, marine stingers and crocodiles can cause serious injury or death.</p>
<p>Tourism is Australia’s largest service sector export industry, accounting for nearly 10% of total export earnings. The industry directly employs over 500,000 people. </p>
<p>Keeping tourists safe is important if the industry is to continue to thrive. So do Australia’s deadly animals deter visitors? </p>
<p>At a national level the presence of deadly animals does not appear to affect the capacity of the country to attract international tourists. After a long period of low growth, which had more to do with the high value of the Australian dollar than deadly wildlife, international arrivals are again on the rise. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.tourism.australia.com/statistics/arrivals.aspx">Recent figures</a> from Tourism Australia show that in the last 12 months international arrivals increased by 7% to reach 6.7 million. Spending rose by 13% to A$34.8 billion.</p>
<h2>Keeping tourists safe</h2>
<p>The results of <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/S1745-354220150000011004">just published research</a> into swimming in the sea in Cairns give some insights into the concerns tourists have about deadly animals. </p>
<p>The majority of respondents were worried about dangerous marine animals, with 80% nominating crocodiles as posing the greatest danger to swimmers, closely followed by marine stingers. Concerns about sharks and stingrays were also high. </p>
<p>The results of the research confirmed that tourists are at least somewhat aware that they may encounter deadly animals in some areas of Australia. The vast majority of respondents (82%) reported they were aware that marine stingers might be encountered during their trip to Cairns. </p>
<p>However, the presence of dangerous animals did not deter people from swimming: 60% of domestic visitors and 83% of international reported going swimming. However, respondents did report taking precautions. Most (81%) chose to swim in beach enclosures and over half reported wearing a stinger-proof swimsuit while swimming. </p>
<p>Not all respondents particularly liked stinger-proof suits. One respondent reported that it was like wearing a full-body condom. </p>
<p>Apart from educating tourists about the potential to encounter deadly animals there is also a need to protect them. </p>
<p>In northern Queensland, as in other parts of the country, coastal communities have developed a range of strategies to protect tourists and members of the local community. Strategies generally include education, lifeguard patrols, warning signs and the installation of stinger-resistant swimming enclosures. </p>
<p>Measures of this nature are effective only if tourists, and locals, restrict their swimming activities to protected areas. The evidence from this research indicates that most tourists have recognised the dangers and do swim in protective enclosures.</p>
<h2>What about the locals?</h2>
<p>Elsewhere in Australia, the main threats are posed by sharks, crocodiles and, to a lesser extent, snakes. </p>
<p>In a recent article on shark attacks in Australia over the period 2002 to June 2014, <a href="http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2015/07/shark-attacks-in-australia-a-timeline/">Australian Geographic</a> reported that there had been 22 fatal attacks. Almost all victims were Australian residents. </p>
<p>Over the same period 13 fatalities were attributed to <a href="http://www.crocodile-attack.info/data/explore">saltwater crocodiles</a>. Deaths from marine stingers were much lower with only <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jellyfish_stings_in_Australia">four recorded fatalities</a> </p>
<p>Crocodile attacks are relatively rate. However, because the coastal rivers and beaches of northern Australia that tourists find so enticing may also overlap with salt water crocodile habits, caution is required. </p>
<p>Protecting tourists and locals against shark and crocodile attacks is more difficult than against stingers. Once again education is a key element and based on the evidence of the low overall number of attacks each year appears to have been effective in keeping tourists, and locals, safe. </p>
<p>While many tourists are concerned about dangerous animals it does not deter them from visiting Australia. The message for the nation’s tourism industry is that it is important to tell tourist that there are dangerous animals and assure them that strategies have been put into place to protect them. It is also important to tell tourists that they need to adopt sensible precautions such as wearing stinger-proof swimsuits and swimming in areas that are protected. </p>
<p>From a destination perspective it is important to ensure that funding is sufficient to maintain protective infrastructure such as stinger nets, warning signs and consumer education programs. </p>
<p>It is also important to ensure that emergency services are adequately funded and that staff are trained to assist tourists who may not understand English.</p>
<p><em>This article is part of our series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/deadly-australia">Deadly Australia</a>. Stay tuned for more pieces on the topic in the coming days.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51029/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Prideaux receives funding from Australian Government Department of the Environment. He works for Central Queensland University.</span></em></p>Despite a fearsome reputation, it seems Australia’s wildlife doesn’t scare away tourists.Bruce Prideaux, Professor of Tourism & Director, Centre for Tourism and Regional Opportunities, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/509642016-01-11T19:20:57Z2016-01-11T19:20:57ZMortal poison: the story of how venom works<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107716/original/image-20160111-6986-t4bwg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A tiger snake is milked for its venom</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Snake image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Centuries ago it was thought that snakes caused their deadly effects because of “a mortal poison that lurked in the bile”. It wasn’t until the 17th century that Italian doctor <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Redi">Francesco Redi (1626-1697)</a> conclusively <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12522497">located</a> the poison as being in the yellow liquid from glands attached to the two front teeth of venomous snakes.</p>
<p>Shortly afterwards, English physician <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Mead">Richard Mead (1673-1754)</a> went one step further and personally drank, without ill effect, viper venom to show that it must be injected into the body to <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=6vM2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA132&lpg=PA132&dq=dr+richard+mead+venom&source=bl&ots=MXA1Nq4E_c&sig=svurVyYncEuE-p1BrmOYYH8appE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiOlsqi36HKAhVLbY4KHcF5CA4Q6AEILDAD#v=onepage&q=dr%20richard%20mead%20venom&f=false">cause harm</a>.</p>
<p>The study of venom has progressed so that we now have a detailed understanding of what’s in venom and how the constituent toxins work. The major ways that venom can be a “mortal poison” are explained below. </p>
<h2>Neurotoxins</h2>
<p>Perhaps the most common type of poison in animal venoms is the nerve toxin. This group can acts in diverse ways to block or over-stimulate the nervous system - rarely a good thing. </p>
<p>The most dangerous of these are the ones that block nerve signalling, causing paralysis of the muscles required for breathing. Depending on the toxin, such paralysis may be very rapid (blue-ringed octopus venom can act <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15563650701601790">within minutes</a>) or take many hours (neurotoxins of the taipan snake typically progress over <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15588214">five to ten hours</a>).</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107714/original/image-20160111-6988-1mrqzw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107714/original/image-20160111-6988-1mrqzw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=829&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107714/original/image-20160111-6988-1mrqzw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=829&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107714/original/image-20160111-6988-1mrqzw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=829&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107714/original/image-20160111-6988-1mrqzw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1041&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107714/original/image-20160111-6988-1mrqzw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1041&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107714/original/image-20160111-6988-1mrqzw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1041&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Francesco Redi worked out where the poison of venomous snakes is stored.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Francesco_Redi_%28from_the_IHM_collection%2C_number_B021503%29.jpg">Public domain via Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
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<p>The blue-ringed octopus shares a common toxin type with the puffer or fugu fish - most famous as <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18065372">Japan’s deadly delicacy</a>. Both contain a very powerful nerve blocker called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrodotoxin">tetrodotoxin</a>.</p>
<p>Typically, tetrodotoxin poisoning initially causes a tingling around the mouth. If the dose is high enough, this will be followed by progressive difficulty in breathing. And, if untreated, it may be fatal. </p>
<p>Snake venoms, by contrast, start their paralysing effects on the muscles around the eyes (typically manifest as fixed dilated pupils, reduced eye movements and droopy eyelids). If not treated with antivenom, these early signs will eventually be followed by increasing difficulty talking, swallowing and, ultimately, breathing. </p>
<p>The Australian paralysis tick also has neurotoxins but, unlike snakes, these toxins take many days to cause paralysis. It usually starts by causing weakness in the legs. </p>
<p>Many paralysing venoms contain a cocktail of molecules that act together but in different ways to interfere with the transmission of nerve impulses.</p>
<p>The most dangerous paralysing toxins destroy the nerves themselves. Some Australian snake venoms, such as the mainland tiger snake, contain both receptor blocking and nerve destructive types of neurotoxins. Once this latter type of damage occurs, it may take weeks for the nerves to repair and during this time you may not be able to breathe without external support. </p>
<p>Some venomous marine snails have tens of different types of neurotoxins in their venom and <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2014/03/cone-snails-have-multiple-venoms-research-shows">can control the mix</a> of toxin types depending on whether they’re protecting themselves from attack or hunting prey.</p>
<h2>Impact on blood and heart</h2>
<p>Another potentially lethal effect of snakebite, rarely seen with other types of venoms, is altered blood clotting. Most of Australia’s dangerous snakes have toxins in their venom that cause the body to destroy factors that help clot blood. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107718/original/image-20160111-6992-1dfqx32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107718/original/image-20160111-6992-1dfqx32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107718/original/image-20160111-6992-1dfqx32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107718/original/image-20160111-6992-1dfqx32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107718/original/image-20160111-6992-1dfqx32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107718/original/image-20160111-6992-1dfqx32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107718/original/image-20160111-6992-1dfqx32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107718/original/image-20160111-6992-1dfqx32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As well as being extremely painful, a brush with a box jellyfish can kill you in minutes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jellyfish image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The eastern brown snake, for example, can cause a very severe clotting disturbance. This type of venom can cause the sudden death of some people bitten by these snakes.</p>
<p>Arguably the most dangerous venom in the world is that of the box jellyfish, <em>Chironex fleckeri</em>, because of its ability to kill a healthy <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=winkel+malaysia+jellyfish">adult human in minutes</a>. This remarkable lethality is attributed to powerful toxins that are injected into the skin through millions of tiny venom-filled harpoon-like weapons on the jellyfish tentacles. </p>
<p>Once in the circulation, these toxins seem to home in on, and punch holes in, the outer membrane of <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3773479/">heart muscle cells</a>. These holes disturb the smoothly co-ordinated contraction of the heart muscles. </p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, left untreated, this form of venom toxicity can cause death soon after you’ve been stung.</p>
<h2>Muscle destruction and pain</h2>
<p>A more insidious effect, particularly of snake venoms, is muscle destruction known as myotoxicity. While not as quick as the effect on blood clotting, heart function or nerve signalling, myotoxicity can also be lethal. </p>
<p>Typically, snake venom toxins dissolve the membrane of muscle cells. Not only is this a painful experience, it also causes the muscle protein, known as myoglobin, to leak into the urine, potentially poisoning the kidneys in the process. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107712/original/image-20160111-16084-n0wgpm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107712/original/image-20160111-16084-n0wgpm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=681&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107712/original/image-20160111-16084-n0wgpm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=681&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107712/original/image-20160111-16084-n0wgpm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=681&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107712/original/image-20160111-16084-n0wgpm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=855&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107712/original/image-20160111-16084-n0wgpm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=855&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107712/original/image-20160111-16084-n0wgpm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=855&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">English physician Richard Mead (1673-1754) drank viper venom to show it must be injected into the body to cause harm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Richard_Mead_2.jpg">Mezzotint by R. Houston after A. Ramsay via Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>People bitten by tiger snakes occasionally require kidney dialysis because of this. In some Asian countries, such as Myanmar, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2811174/">snakebite is a leading cause of renal failure</a>. </p>
<p>Myotoxicity can also lead to massive increases in blood potassium levels, leached from the injured muscle cells. This effect can itself cause fatal damage to the normal rhythm of the heart.</p>
<p>Although many venoms have evolved to rapidly paralyse and digest prey, another important venom action is defence. </p>
<p>Venomous bees, wasps and ants are well known to most of us because of the characteristic pain that’s produced by their stings. Stinging fish and most venomous jellyfish are also conspicuous by their more prolonged painful stings.</p>
<p>Aside from the physical trauma to the skin from a bite or a sting, these venoms frequently contain toxins that act in various ways to injure cells, trigger inflammation and even kill skin cells. All of this can cause severe pain. The stonefish and box jellyfish are examples of this potent venom effect.</p>
<p>However, least you think the news about venoms is all bad, it is worth recalling the words of Claude Bernard, 19th century father of experimental medical science. Concerning the wide utility of venoms as scientific tools <a href="http://www.hughlafollette.com/papers/BERNARD.HTM">he wrote</a>: “Poisons are veritable reagents of life, extremely delicate instruments which dissect vital units”. </p>
<p>Indeed such “reagents” have aided in <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1986/">many past</a> <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1982/">Nobel Prizes</a> . But that’s another story… </p>
<p><em>Learn more about the story of venom at the Medical History Museum’s <a href="http://medicalhistorymuseum.mdhs.unimelb.edu.au/exhibition/Venom%3A-Fear%2C-Fascination-and-Discovery">online exhibition</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>This article is part of our series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/deadly-australia">Deadly Australia</a>. Stay tuned for more pieces on the topic in the coming days.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50964/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ken Winkel receives funding from the NH&MRC. </span></em></p>Your guide to the cocktail of deadly chemicals in animal venom.Ken Winkel, Toxinologist; Senior Research Fellow, Australian Venom Research Unit, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/518092016-01-11T19:20:56Z2016-01-11T19:20:56ZYes, Australian snakes will definitely kill you – if you’re a mouse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107709/original/image-20160111-16066-c9mq0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australian snakes can kill the most mice with the smallest amount of venom.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsale/5305780693/">Michael Sale/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The idea that Australia is home to many of the most deadly snakes in the world is based on <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Broad+A+and+1979">animal research from the 1970s</a> that looked at the effect of 25 venoms on mice. While not entirely untrue, the claim is also not quite right.</p>
<p>A more accurate statement might be that Australian snakes are the best mouse killers in the world: they’re able to kill the most mice with the smallest amount of venom. While that’s clearly bad news for mice, how does it translate into human risk? </p>
<p>The occurrence and severity of a snake bite depends on a complex interaction between snake behaviour, venom toxicity and human behaviour. Significant factors include how toxic the venom is; how much of it is injected by the snake; and how humans encounter and interact with snakes. </p>
<h2>Toothless tigers?</h2>
<p>Australian snakes have very toxic venoms but inject tiny amounts at a time because most have short fangs. The only evidence of a brown snake bite may be a small scratch, for instance, but the venom is so toxic that it quickly results in the person’s blood failing to clot, which puts them at risk of bleeding to death.</p>
<p>Mulga snakes (King Brown) can deliver larger amounts of venom, but have one of the less toxic venoms of dangerous Australian snakes. </p>
<p>Historically, tiger snakes and death adders were <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_snake_bites_in_Australia#Before_1900">responsible for most deaths</a>. They’re widely distributed throughout Australia and their bites cause paralysis. </p>
<p>Before the advent of modern intensive care, paralysis was – more often than not – fatal. But with the development of antivenom in the 1930s and 1950s, and machines that can breathe for people, paralysis from snakebite has become uncommon.</p>
<p>Taipans also cause paralysis, but are a rare cause of snakebite in Australia (in contrast to Papua New Guinea where they cause much havoc). </p>
<p>In modern times, <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0053188">brown snake bites</a> have become more common and now cause the majority of such deaths in Australia. This group of snakes appears to have thrived despite human invasion and the destruction of natural habitats. Brown snakes are now the most common cause of severe snake envenoming in Australia, according to the <a href="http://wikitoxin.toxicology.wikispaces.net/Australian+Snakebite+Project">Australian Snakebite Project</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107710/original/image-20160111-16054-n3f329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107710/original/image-20160111-16054-n3f329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107710/original/image-20160111-16054-n3f329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107710/original/image-20160111-16054-n3f329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107710/original/image-20160111-16054-n3f329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107710/original/image-20160111-16054-n3f329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107710/original/image-20160111-16054-n3f329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eastern Brown Snake (<em>Pseudonaja textilis</em>) is one of the group of snakes that cause the most severe envenomings in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kookr/2943122737/">David Cook/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>They cause the majority of the one to five deaths from snakebites each year, usually from early collapse and cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, antivenom is unlikely to help these people because cardiac arrest happens within 30 minutes of the bite. Early basic life support from bystanders is most important for snake bites because this can keep someone alive until they’re transported to hospital. </p>
<h2>Treating bites</h2>
<p>Severe snake envenoming is actually quite rare in Australia, with only about <a href="http://www.newcastle.edu.au/research-and-innovation/centre/health-medicine/clinical-toxicology/research/australian-snakebite-project">100 cases each year</a>. After brown snakes, red-bellied black snake bites are the next most common, but they rarely cause severe envenoming and occur only in eastern Australia. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2012/197/3/tiger-snake-notechis-spp-envenoming-australian-snakebite-project-asp-13?0=ip_login_no_cache%3Dd1b8938253cd24d4615a174a91fe452b">Tiger snakes</a>, which continue to account for a significant number of bites in southern Australia, are one of three snakes found in Tasmania and account for almost all serious snake bites in Victoria. They cause all three major types of toxicity: coagulopathy (making a person’s blood unable to clot), neurotoxicity (paralysis) and myotoxicity (muscle damage). </p>
<p>Snake bites are treated with antivenom, which needs to be given as soon as possible after a bite to be effective. The <a href="http://www.newcastle.edu.au/research-and-innovation/centre/health-medicine/clinical-toxicology/research/australian-snakebite-project">Australian Snakebite Project</a> has demonstrated that only one vial of antivenom is required to treat all cases of snake envenoming.</p>
<p>But many of the effects of snake envenoming are irreversible in the short term (muscle damage, for instance, and paralysis), so antivenom won’t help for these. Instead, treatment in intensive care will support the patient while the body repairs. This is why antivenom needs to be given early. </p>
<p>Using antivenom comes with the risk of an allergic reaction, so it’s important that only people with envenoming be treated. <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/srep04827">Recent research</a> measuring snake venom enzymes in blood appears to identify envenoming early. It is hoped that development of bedside testing of these enzymes will improve early recognition.</p>
<p>Although the effects of venom are reasonably well understood, why they cause severe toxicity in humans remains unclear. After all, we are not prey for snakes; small reptiles (such as skinks) or small mammals (such as marsupial rats) are their primary targets. </p>
<p>The toxicity we see in humans, such as venom’s clotting effects that commonly occur with brown snake, tiger snake and taipan bites, is most likely a chance occurrence. This idea is supported by <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049384815302152">recent research</a> that shows many animals, including rodents and skinks, are highly resistant to the clotting effect of snake venom. But they’re highly susceptible to the neurotoxic effects of snake venoms. </p>
<p>In most other parts of the world, vipers, which have much larger fangs, are much more common. They inject ten or more times as much venom as Australian snakes, but have less toxic venoms. The other major difference is that vipers can cause local skin and tissue damage and, in some cases, this can lead to amputation. Unlike the human impact of Australian snakes, viper envenoming is a <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0050218">huge public health issue worldwide</a>.</p>
<p><em>This article is part of our series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/deadly-australia">Deadly Australia</a>. Stay tuned for more pieces on the topic in the coming days.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51809/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoff Isbister receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council - Senior Research Fellowship, Centre for Research Excellence in Translational Venom and Antivenom Research and a Program Grant.</span></em></p>Australian snakes are the best mouse killers in the whole world. And while that’s clearly bad news for mice, how does it translate into human risk?Geoff Isbister, Director, Clinical Toxicology Research Group, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/509632016-01-10T19:16:23Z2016-01-10T19:16:23ZAre Australian snakes the deadliest in the world? Not even close<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107486/original/image-20160107-14020-5z2o2c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is Australia really the most lethal nation on earth when it comes down to it?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many Australians pride themselves on the belief that, of all the countries in the world, their snakes, spiders, jellyfish, centipedes, fish, ticks, bees and ants are the worst. And it’s easy to believe they’re right.</p>
<p>After all, there’s <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/524395">a 37-year-old list</a> that says that 21 of the 25 most toxic snakes in the world are all from Australia. And aren’t funnel-web spiders, box jellyfish, stonefish and cone snails all dead-set killers? </p>
<p>But is Australia really the most lethal nation on earth when it comes down to it? Actually, no, it’s not. And the reason is simple. </p>
<h2>A matter of perspective</h2>
<p>It’s useless to measure how dangerous something is based solely on laboratory lethality tests. Venom toxicity and the number of mice killed with a snake’s average venom yield, for instance, are interesting only from an academic perspective. </p>
<p>If you happen to be one of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology_of_snakebites">around 100,000 people</a> who die of snake bites around the world in any given year, such facts are irrelevant. The same goes for just about any other venomous creature we might like to proudly declare as the planet’s most lethal. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107332/original/image-20160105-28969-1l0pl0j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107332/original/image-20160105-28969-1l0pl0j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107332/original/image-20160105-28969-1l0pl0j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107332/original/image-20160105-28969-1l0pl0j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107332/original/image-20160105-28969-1l0pl0j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107332/original/image-20160105-28969-1l0pl0j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107332/original/image-20160105-28969-1l0pl0j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Eastern Brown Snake (<em>Pseudonaja textilis</em>) and its relatives cause most of the bites and fatalities in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Williams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While Australia has spiders, jellyfish and other animals with lethal venom, the reality is that bites and deaths are rare. In other words, despite very toxic venoms, these creatures don’t bite enough people to cause major problems. Even when they do bite, it’s rare for snakes to inject venom (or “envenom”), less than 450 of 3,000 snakebite cases a year, for example. Death is even rarer (two to three cases a year). </p>
<p>Animals that cause the greatest burden of human suffering and death are the ones we need to be most worried about, and from that perspective, the most dangerous are not Australian. </p>
<p>Consider snakes, one of the most feared groups of venomous animals in the world. If we want to know which snakes are the most dangerous, we should consider the global, rather than individual impact. That view shows three groups of vipers that collectively span almost all of the tropical developing world – and have a huge impact on human health – best deserve the title of <em>the world’s most dangerous</em>.</p>
<h2>Meet the carpet viper</h2>
<p>Perhaps the most dangerous of these three genera is a diverse group of small, seemingly innocuous vipers that range from Sri Lanka and India, across the Middle East and through a huge part of the northern half of Africa. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105364/original/image-20151211-8297-39c4q6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105364/original/image-20151211-8297-39c4q6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105364/original/image-20151211-8297-39c4q6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105364/original/image-20151211-8297-39c4q6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105364/original/image-20151211-8297-39c4q6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105364/original/image-20151211-8297-39c4q6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105364/original/image-20151211-8297-39c4q6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">West African carpet viper (<em>Echis ocellatus</em>) from Togo – member of a genus of small vipers that are the world’s most dangerous snakes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Williams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These snakes got their name from the patterns that adorn their bodies. They are small- to medium-sized vipers believed to injure and kill more people each year than any other species in the world. Yet they don’t make the list of most toxic snakes mentioned above at all. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22851309">In just one hospital</a> in Nigeria’s north-eastern Gombe State, 5,367 victims of carpet viper envenoming were treated over a two-year period. But for the use of an effective antivenom, the fatality rate may have been as high as 35% to 45%. That’s more cases at one hospital in two years than all the recorded cases throughout Australia in ten. </p>
<p>Their huge range across a vast swathe of the rural tropics brings carpet vipers into contact with hundreds of thousands of people each year. And while nobody has a tally of just how many lives they affect, international experts all agree that when it comes to the most dangerous snake, these vipers have no competition. </p>
<h2>Russell’s viper</h2>
<p>In Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, carpet vipers give way to the larger Russell’s viper (<em>Daboia russelii</em>). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105363/original/image-20151211-8314-1qqw4l0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105363/original/image-20151211-8314-1qqw4l0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105363/original/image-20151211-8314-1qqw4l0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105363/original/image-20151211-8314-1qqw4l0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105363/original/image-20151211-8314-1qqw4l0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105363/original/image-20151211-8314-1qqw4l0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105363/original/image-20151211-8314-1qqw4l0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Russell’s viper (<em>Daboia russelii</em>) arguably the most dangerous snake in Asia with a potent cocktail of destructive toxins in its venom.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Williams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This pugnacious viper lurks in fields, rice paddies and farmland from Pakistan through India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia, as well as Taiwan and southern China. There’s a distinct, disjoined population of an equally dangerous sister species (<em>Daboia siamensis</em>) in eastern Java and the lesser Sundas in Indonesia.</p>
<p>Like the victims of carpet vipers, those bitten by these snakes bleed uncontrollably and often fatally. At the same time, local tissue destruction and necrosis, acute kidney injury, neurotoxic paralysis, shock, and cardiac arrhythmia can produce a terrifying clinical picture that can very quickly lead to death. </p>
<h2>Lancehead pit vipers</h2>
<p>Latin America, from Mexico to Argentina, is home to more than 40 species in the genus <em>Bothrops</em>, lancehead pit vipers. Collectively, this very diverse group is responsible for many of the estimated 150,000 or more cases of venomous snakebites in Central and South America each year. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105369/original/image-20151211-8329-fhie1h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105369/original/image-20151211-8329-fhie1h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105369/original/image-20151211-8329-fhie1h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105369/original/image-20151211-8329-fhie1h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105369/original/image-20151211-8329-fhie1h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105369/original/image-20151211-8329-fhie1h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105369/original/image-20151211-8329-fhie1h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Venezuelan lancehead (<em>Bothrops venezuelensis</em>) one of a large, widely distributed genus of dangerous pit vipers that cause enormous misery in Latin America.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Williams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Lancehead bites produce devastating local tissue injury with oedema (or fluid retention), bruising, skin and muscle necrosis and fluid-filled blisters. Permanent disability including amputation is common. </p>
<p>Systemic effects involving stopping the ability of blood to clot, platelet destruction, shock, acute kidney injury and thrombosis present doctors with a complex medical emergency that – even with the best care available in a modern hospital – can still ultimately prove fatal. </p>
<p>Since many cases occur in rural areas, away from good medical care, poor outcomes are common.</p>
<p>Within Australia, the low mortality from snakebite (and other types of venomous injury) is very much the product of decades of research and excellent clinical care, not to mention safe and effective antivenoms. </p>
<p>It’s the lack of these same attributes elsewhere in the world that renders snakebites such a potentially life-changing (if not, life-ending) public health issue. </p>
<p><em>This article is part of our series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/deadly-australia">Deadly Australia</a>. Stay tuned for more pieces on the topic in the coming days.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><em>David will be on hand for an Author Q&A between 11am and noon AEDT on Tuesday, January 12, 2016. Post your questions in the comments section below.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50963/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Williams receives funding from CSL Limited, the National Health and Medical Research Council and the government of Papua New Guinea. He is affiliated with the Global Snakebite Initiative Limited, a not-for-profit advocacy organization, and is an employee of the University of Melbourne. </span></em></p>There’s a simple reason why Australia isn’t the most lethal nation in the world.David Williams, Head, Charles Campbell Toxinology Centre at the University of Papua New Guinea & Australian Venom Research Unit, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/510482016-01-10T19:15:54Z2016-01-10T19:15:54ZSpiders are a treasure trove of scientific wonder<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107496/original/image-20160107-13986-17lmrv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As a generalist predator, spiders, like this Western Rough Wolf Spider, help limit the number of insects in your garden.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jean_hort/4521389919/">Jean and Fred/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia has an incredible diversity of native spiders, including the <a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-what-should-you-do-if-youre-bitten-by-a-spider-49232">potentially lethal</a> funnel-web, the ubiquitous huntsman, and the charming peacock spider. Only two can be deadly for humans – the funnel-web and redback spiders – and we have antivenom for both.</p>
<p>Found all across the country, spiders play an important role in the environment as generalist predators. Increasingly, their venom is being used <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1517/14712598.2011.621940#.Vl4bD2QrIsk">to develop novel human therapeutics</a> and <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/4/3/191">to create new, selective, sustainable insecticides</a>.</p>
<h2>A model citizen</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107499/original/image-20160107-13988-emlng8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107499/original/image-20160107-13988-emlng8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107499/original/image-20160107-13988-emlng8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1031&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107499/original/image-20160107-13988-emlng8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1031&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107499/original/image-20160107-13988-emlng8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1031&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107499/original/image-20160107-13988-emlng8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1296&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107499/original/image-20160107-13988-emlng8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1296&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107499/original/image-20160107-13988-emlng8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1296&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How house spider webs change when the spider is exposed to different chemicals.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Spiders are often a starting point for children to fall in love with the natural world: they’re found almost everywhere, and everyone can appreciate their tremendous diversity. What’s more, scientists are constantly learning new things from them.</p>
<p>They’re an important model system to help us understand the basics of biology. We know that the spider and its web are so closely tied that exposure to different chemicals has <a href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19950065352">specific effects on how the webs are spun</a>. </p>
<p>Other research suggests the blue colour in tarantulas evolved independently <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/1/10/e1500709.full">at least eight times</a>. This may help inform our understanding of the evolution of colouration, as well as how to make better paints.</p>
<p>The peacock spider <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1820/20152222">has helped show</a> that strong sexual selection by females depends on a variety of factors. Scientists think <a href="http://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/sexual-selection-13255240">sexual selection</a> has had an impact on the striking coloration and complex signalling of this spider species, but this is the first evidence to definitively demonstrate female preference has played a role.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OOmUBuaMjzw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Dance, dance revolution.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>With great power…</h2>
<p>As a generalist predator, <a href="http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.ento.47.091201.145240">spiders help limit</a> the number of insects in your garden. Although they’ll probably eat some good bugs as well as bad while they’re at it.</p>
<p>Spider venom is a complex chemical cocktail of hundreds of different components, and each type has its own very specific activity. Many individual venom components act on the insect nervous system and these can be very useful for scientific research. </p>
<p>My work, for instance, is on discovering newenvironmentally friendly <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0073136">insecticides from spider venoms</a>. Since insect nervous systems are very different from the one found in vertebrates (including humans), individual toxins are frequently active in insects but not in vertebrates, and vice versa. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106386/original/image-20151216-30079-44o3x0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106386/original/image-20151216-30079-44o3x0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106386/original/image-20151216-30079-44o3x0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106386/original/image-20151216-30079-44o3x0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106386/original/image-20151216-30079-44o3x0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106386/original/image-20151216-30079-44o3x0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106386/original/image-20151216-30079-44o3x0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Chemistry of Spider Venom.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.compoundchem.com/2015/05/21/spider-venom/">Compound Interest</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When we look for good insecticidal candidates <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10881200">we screen for</a> compounds with specific activity in insects and the absence of activity in vertebrates. It’s that specificity that makes spider venoms such powerful sources of new, sustainable insecticides, as well as excellent therapeutics.</p>
<h2>What’s in a venom?</h2>
<p>Spider venoms generally consist of three types of components: small components (salts, carbohydrates, amines and acids to name a few); peptides (small proteins that are generally highly structured); and enzymes (used for digesting food).</p>
<p>If you <a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-what-should-you-do-if-youre-bitten-by-a-spider-49232">get bitten by a spider</a>, do your best to remain calm, and proceed directly to a medical professional so your symptoms can be monitored and treated. They will administer the appropriate antivenom if required.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106207/original/image-20151216-25600-14x8czz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106207/original/image-20151216-25600-14x8czz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106207/original/image-20151216-25600-14x8czz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106207/original/image-20151216-25600-14x8czz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106207/original/image-20151216-25600-14x8czz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106207/original/image-20151216-25600-14x8czz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106207/original/image-20151216-25600-14x8czz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106207/original/image-20151216-25600-14x8czz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Spiders deliver venom by injection, using mouth parts called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelicerae">chelicerae</a>, which are informally known as fangs. The chelicerae are found on the front body segment, the cephalothorax, and that’s also where its eight legs are attached. </p>
<p>The abdomen is the other spider body segment, and that’s where the spinnerets, used to weave the web, are found.</p>
<p>Spiders sometimes appear hairy, but those are actually <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seta">sensory setae</a> that are used to collect detailed information about the nearby environment. Depending on the spider species that could include temperature, humidity, and wind direction, and chemical information, such as the source of pheromones used in mating.</p>
<p>So leave your fear behind and go ahead, embrace the majesty of spiders. But pick your species carefully – <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-27/police-respond-to-domestic-after-man-screams-over-spider/6979724">and try not to get the police involved</a>.</p>
<p><em>This article is part of our series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/deadly-australia">Deadly Australia</a>. Stay tuned for more pieces on the topic in the coming days.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51048/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maggie Hardy receives funding from The University of Queensland and UniQuest Pty Ltd.</span></em></p>Only two Australian spiders can kill you, but the rest are a pretty fascinating bunch.Maggie Hardy, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.