Letters for July 18, 2002

I am a professional arachnologist with a master’s degree in entomology, currently working on my Ph.D. at the University of Nevada, Reno. The Streetalk question “Got bugs?” amused me greatly.

C. J. Karrasch stated that he has arachnophobia, which is very common. Fear of spiders is second only to the fear of snakes. But spiders, in reality, are not evil. Though they are often the scapegoat for any unexplained bite, the truth is that there are far more biting insects that will cause skin reactions than spiders. What eats these often flying, biting insects? Spiders. Spiders also help to keep pest insect populations down in agricultural areas.

Even spider venom is useful. A friend of mine, Chuck Kristensen, makes a living from milking spiders (his company is Spider Pharm, located in Arizona) and selling it to pharmaceutical companies and medical organizations.

Most spiders in the Reno area are harmless. The exception is the black widow, which is common here. Black widows can be easily identified because they are shiny and black, with no hair on their bodies. They like dark corners and can frequently be found in garages and sheds. Two species exist in this area, Lactrodectus mactans, also known as the true black widow, and Lactrodectus hesperus. Both are dangerous. L. mactans has a complete red hourglass on the underside of its abdomen, and L. hesperus has two red triangles.

Two other dangerous spider species exist in the United States. We are out of the natural range for the brown recluse. Loxoceles reclusa is primarily found in the southeast, though people sometimes unknowingly bring them into other areas when they move. This species usually doesn’t survive the winter when this happens. Some relatives of the brown recluse do live in the Western states, but these species are less dangerous than the brown recluse. So far, no one has brought a sample of any Loxoceles species to my lab. Though I doubt most people want to get this close to a brown spider, recluse spiders can be identified by the fact that they have six eyes instead of the usual eight.

The last dangerous spider in the United States is the hobo spider, which lives in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and northern Utah. This European species was introduced into the Pacific Northwest and appears to be expanding its range, but so far, no reports of it exist in Nevada, and no one has brought a sample to my lab.

Kelly C. Kissane
Reno

Pros at FSU
Re “Cheap But Not Broken” [RN&R Musicbeat, July 3]:

In quick response to your article about FSU Audio, I have to say that my experience with their organization was SPLENDID! I worked with them a while back and the customer service, attitude and all aspects of the shop made my stop by very worthwhile. I consider the guys as professionals, as honest and good friends as well as business associates. As a sound and lighting reinforcement company owner and DJ, there are many options out there, but FSU sets itself a bit ahead of the rest. Good job, FSU!

Domenic “DJ Kling” Martinello
via e-mail

Keep pledge, change anthem
America, no longer asleep, has a hard enough time figuring out how to use a turn signal without having to look up some college-boy applesauce about separation of church and state. Who has time to comprehend a basic premise of our government, which helped create this one aspect of freedom in the first place?

So let’s keep the pledge and change the national anthem. Sure! Let’s replace the anthem’s melody with one from a hymnal. We certainly don’t want to continue to blaspheme our national identity with a composition that was originally a wildly popular drinking song. Do we? Francis Scott Key penned his poem to a five-stanza ditty with lyrics celebrating Venus (goddess of love) and Bacchus (god of wine)—false deities of sex and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, if ever there were. That’s certainly the antithesis of one nation under God.

Hell, that nation now has both the emotional incentive and the utter lack of context to obliterate the line between church and state far better than most. We could make the Taliban look like mere amateurs, for Christ’s sake. Then, God willing, we could click our heels freely, whether we were wearing ruby red slippers or greasy black jackboots.

Craig Ayres-Sevier
via e-mail