If there's one this you do not want the most venomous arachnid in the world to be doing, it's wandering. The Brazilian Wandering Spider is so called because it doesn't build webs, but wanders around looking for its prey. It is a member of the Phoneutria genus, which is Ancient Greek for "murderess", which should tell you all you need to know. It is known to be aggressive and, when threatened, will raise itself up onto its back legs as though spoiling for a scrap. Due tot heir tendency for nocturnal wanderings, during the day they like to hide away in dark, quiet places ... like your shoes. The bite of a Brazilian Wandering Spider will produce initial symptoms of severe burning at the site which will quickly develop into tachycardia (fast heart rate), sweating, hypothermia, abdominal cramps, vertigo, convulsions, blurred vision and hypothermia. In addition to the usual suspects, the bite of the wanderer boosts the body's nitric oxide production, increasing blood flow and producing long painful erections in males that can last hours. Luckily, this last symptom makes it pretty easy to identify. Fun Fact: Due to the priapistic powers of the Wandering Spider bite, there have been several studies looking into the possibility of using it to develop a Viagara-like drug to treat erectile dysfunction. Every cloud has a silver lining and all that...
