What are the detailed effects of black widow spider venom on a human 1" in size?

Question

(warning, due to this questions gruesome nature, the faint of heart should read no further!)

I'm writing a horror story that concerns spiders growing to 50' in size and another with humans shrunk to about 1" tall. In each
case black widow spiders feed on humans prior to laying eggs. My question concerns the effects of large amounts of
her spider venom on a human victim. A detailed answer of the venom's paralysis effects and information on how the enzymes
liquify the tissue and how long this process might last. Are the bones liquified too? I've been told that the venom effects vary by spider species as well.

Could someone verify this information: The victims would be paralyzed, then cocooned. Her venom hardens the skin and the victims can be ingested while they are still alive.

Please be as detailed in your explanation as possible.

Answer 1

The main active component of Widow spider venom is "Latrotoxin" (named after the genus of widow spiders, "Latrodectus".....) Latrotoxin is a neurotoxin; it stimulates nerve cells to release large amounts of neurotransmitters, (Specifically, Glutamate, GABA, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine.) This causes the nerve cells to fire rapidly, uncontrollably, and eventually to cease functioning altogether.

The venom also contains a number of accessory toxins, which disrupt "ion channels" in nerve cells, and throughout the body, probably helping to speed up and increase the effects of the latrotoxin.

For a normal sized human, the major symptoms are typically pain, nausea, painful muscle cramps and spasms, rapid or irregular heartbeat, difficulty breathing, hypertension, profuse sweating and salivation, etc.

Latrotoxin is extremely potent, but the spider typically only has a very tiny amount of venom, so the bite is rarely fatal to humans. Assuming that a human was only an inch in size,I'll venture to guess........ the effects of the venom would probably be immediate, extremely rapid, and be followed by convulsions, complete paralysis, and unconsciousness, in a matter of seconds. Death from cardiac and respiratory failure, would likely soon follow. Note that the reason that widow spider evolved such a potent venom, is probably so that it's victims will be quickly subdued, preventing them from struggling excessively, escaping, or fighting back. Apparently, the venom itself does not start to digest the prey, merely paralyzes it. Later, when the spider wishes to feed, it injects saliva with digestive enzymes.....

Black widows are dedicated ambush predators, and are very shy. They spin loose, aggregated webs in shadowy, isolated corners, and wait, hiding in the shadows. They have extremely poor vision, and hunt mostly by touch and by vibration. When they feel the vibrations of an insect blundering into their web, they rush out and grapple them, usually wrapping the victim up in silk as the venom takes effect, then retreating back to their hideout with their prey.

For an inch tall human, it would probably be easy to avoid these webs. Other, bolder, more active and aggressive hunting spiders, such as "wolf spiders", "jumping spiders", "house spiders", or "nursery spiders", would probably be much more fearsome to tiny humans.

The fangs of a black widow are typically less than 1mm long; smaller spiders, such as males may not even be able to break the skin, of a normal sized human...

Hope that helps,
~W.O.M.B.A.T.

Answer 2

Black Widow Venom Effects

Answer 3

The black widow's venom is extremely potent, (15 times as potent than that of the rattlesnakes; it is also reported to be much more potent than the venom of cobras and coral snakes), these spiders are not especially large. In the case of a mature female, the hollow, needle shaped part of each chelicera, the part that penetrates the skin, is approximately 1.0 mm (around .04 inch) long, sufficiently long to inject the venom to a dangerous depth. When this small amount of venom is diffused throughout the body of a healthy, mature human, it usually does not amount to a fatal dose (though it can produce the very unpleasant symptoms of Latrodectism). Deaths in healthy adults from Latrodectus bites are relatively rare in terms of the number of bites per thousand people. On the other hand, the geographical range of the widow spiders is very great. As a result, far more people are exposed, world-wide, to widow bites than are exposed to bites of more dangerous spiders, so the highest number of deaths world-wide are caused by members of their genus.

Answer 4

Effects Of Black Widow Bite

Answer 5

I really don't know about the effects of the venom on a 1" person.
I do know that from a mathematical perspective, a spider that grew to 50' would not be able to walk without breaking its own legs.
You see, while the weight of the spider grows by the power of 3, the strength of its legs will only grow by the power of 2.
I would guess that it wouldn't be able to walk after growing only a few pounds.
I figure this is probably why insects don't really get that big.