Organism and its adaptation

Victorville city in California is one of the many cities around the United States where desert like features is experienced. The city experiences an average temperature from January to December where in January the temperatures fall to as low as 40 degrees and in December the temperatures rise to as high as 70  degrees. These kinds of temperatures are experienced year round the calendar throughout with no change. The landscape of Victorville, California is significantly termed as the high desert since it extends from the high elevations climatic conditions of northern latitudes which are much different to the low desert which is below sea level familiarly known by the Colorado Desert location (Lepucki, 2014). These temperatures are home and the thriving conditions for a brown recluse spider that similarly lives in this area as well as the humans in Victorville, California. This spider is very venomous especially to children and if not treated the results can be fatal (Russell et al., 2012).

This organism is about 6 to 20 millimeter in size but the size can increase all the same. The abdomen and the cephalothorax are of different colors mostly and they have a black marking on their cephalothorax part. This coloring effect makes them different from the normal spiders such as the pirate spiders. Significantly, the recluse spiders possess a different eye pair arrangement of six while the other spiders have eight in number (Foelix, 2011). The source of food for these recluse spiders are the crickets, firebrats and any other insect of prey with a soft body covering. These spiders are known to live in any abandoned warehouses, clothes piled up, wooded grounds, unutilized shoes, and behind card boards in the houses where the temperatures are much lower than the normal temperatures.

 

 

 

                               Thelyphonida (whip Scorpion)

                                                 Amblypygi (Tailless whip Scorpions)

Class                      Araneae (Spiders)

Arachnida                 Acari (Mites & Ticks)

                                                          Pseudoscorpiones (Book Scorpions)

                                  Solifugae (Wild Scorpions)

                             Scorpiones (Scorpions)

                   Eurypterida (Sea Scorpions)

                Xiphosura (Horseshoe Crabs)

A close related organism to the recluse spider is the Acari which are made up of the mites and the ticks. The close relationship dates back to time in history known as the Devonian period when particular species of animals were known to develop legs independently (Wheeler, 2010). This class of Arachnida has three or so orders and suborders, for example, the Parasitiformes. The Acari are known to have a size of between 0.08 millimeters to 20 millimeters for the mites. The red velvet mites as similarly found in the soils and are highly mistaken by many as spiders but the distinction is the bright red coloring that the mites have on the body. These mites are predators in nature as they grow big but at a tender age, they are just parasites feeding on insects. Mites have a breeding lifespan of one year. Recluse spiders legs have not banded and also not hairy therefore a difference from other spiders.

The head of the recluse spider has a violin shape like which is unique with other spiders. The recluse spider does not necessarily bite as it is presumed by many individuals unless the spider was disturbed (Foelix, 2011). The spider, in general, is not aggressive in nature since it lives in areas where humans are and therefore much known to humans. The functions of these spiders though not known to many is to eliminate the insects such as cockroaches and crickets that like staying in homes and therefore the spider which is a predator hunts them down as a source of food. Frequent encounters with the spiders are not known but they actually exist in the homes around unless the residents push their prey from their homes then the spiders will not survive in that environment (Barceloux, 2012).

Recluse spiders especially the brown ones have adapted to their environments physiologically by having unique hunting styles and features as it is a species generally. The most stunning physiological adaptation is the eyes which are paired two in number. Most of the known spiders have a pair of four making the total number of eyes be eight but the recluse spider has a pair of three with a total of six eyes. These particular characteristics enable the organism to see clearly at night which is the hinting hour of the spider (Foelix, 2011). The brown recluses are well known to move from one location to another at night especially the male when hunting their prey. Recluse spiders have adapted to keeping peace among its habitations and therefore the web it has constructed act as a hide out during the day when humans are in their day activities and come out at night when it is dark and the humans are asleep. The long legs also allow fast movement making it the fastest spider on earth; therefore, chasing food is not a problem to these spiders.

Recluse spiders have developed a particular venom tactic which paralyzes the prey destroying it instantly on capturing. The spiders have also evolved two Pedipalps which are tiny and movable around the mouth to ease the process of capturing and positioning prey while consumption is underway. The recluse spiders are mostly adapted to the dry and hot conditions which are found specifically in humans (Barceloux, 2012). The particular species of spiders cannot be transplanted to the cold regions of the world since they only thrive in hot moderate temperature conditions. In the case of being transplanted into similarly hot favorable conditions then they can survive since they have the possible unique feature of living for months without food or water (Wheeler, 2010). This unique adaptation prevents the extinction of the recluse spiders since they mate once and the female has the capability of producing more than 150 spiderlings in a single year, therefore, effective in nature.

The organ system of the recluse spiders will still remain intact since the adaptation is similar. They move around from the month of mostly march to October and therefore this capability allows the spiders to thrive through in case the area has the same climatic conditions as the previous location otherwise the spider dies. The spiders cannot survive for long in new locations except the stated cities of America such as Georgia, California, North Carolina and others (Foelix, 2011). This is caused by the living habitats and climatic conditions which reduce their lifetime when in the open grounds. Recluse spiders which are found in other regions such as in Germany have developed hair on their legs and bodies and they too have six eyes as their counterparts in California. Adaptation can be explained as indoors adaptation since the spiders do not harm individuals and rather important in the ecosystem as long as they thrive in the houses. Most homes have an average temperature and therefore the environment is effective for the recluse spiders.     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Foelix, R. F. (2011). Biology of spiders. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Lepucki, E. (2014). California: A novel.

Wheeler, J. C. (2010). Recluse spiders. Edina, Minn: Abdo Pub.

Russell, P., Hertz, P., & McMillan, B. (2012). Biology: The Dynamic Science. Cengage Learning,     1133418848, 9781133418849

Skousen, J. M. (2010). Strategic relocation: North American guide to safe places. Lehi, Utah: Swift Pub.

Barceloux, D. G. (2012). Medical toxicology of natural substances: Foods, fungi, medicinal herbs, plants,   and venomous animals. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.