HOUMA, La. - A breed of poisonous invasive spiders are on the
march across Louisiana and have already been sighted in
Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, according to local Louisiana
State University AgCenter officials. Generally found in tropical
areas, the brown widow spider is closely related to the black
widow spider. Widow spider venom is a powerful neurotoxin. Its
bite may not initially be noticed but will soon become very
painful. Symptoms of a widow bite include headache, tiredness,
excessive sweating, nausea, shortness of breath, muscle cramps
and rigidness in the abdomen and legs. Elderly residents,
children and people with compromised immune systems are more at-
risk from a brown widow bite. Symptoms of a brown widow bite
tend to be more localized to the bite site. Study has shown that
the venom of a brown widow may be much stronger than a black
widow, but the brown widow is less likely to inject a large
amount of venom. Very few of the 3,500 species of spiders found
in North America have bites that