Arachnolingo 2: Venomous, medically significant, dangerous. Part I: What does "venomous" mean?
This is part 1 of an article that was so long it became a trilogy. You can click here for part two , about what "medically significant" means and how it differs from "venomous" and "dangerous", and here for part three , which explains why it's important to understand the difference. "-Is this spider venomous? -It's not medically significant." When you just want to know if you're in any danger around an animal you just found in or near your home, this answer can easily seem needlessly complicated, and even frustrating. It's tempting to assume that the person saying "medically significant" just wants to sound clever by using big words when they could just use simpler terms such as "venomous" or "dangerous". However, these words are not interchangeable, and it's important to avoid mixing them up. Here's why. Almost all spiders, including this trapdoor spider ( Nemesia sp.) are venomous . Howev