Canaima spider

“*Somehow that South American male has mated with a domestic house spider and created a very deadly strain.*”
—Dr. James Atherton[src]
The **Canaima spider** was a hybrid species of spider that originated from the cross-breeding of the Venezuelan spider with a domestic house spider when the former was inadvertently introduced to Canaima, California. The resulting offspring enjoyed the lethal venom of the Venezuelan spider but retained the relatively minute size of the barn spider. These were a novel creation of nature, nested within the Jennings barn and residence in Canaima. Initially successful, the spiders terrorized the town and claimed a number of victims, but were ultimately exterminated, likely to extinction, by the efforts of Ross Jennings and Delbert McClintock.

## Description

“*The fangs, the injectors, are disproportionately large...*”
—Dr. James Atherton[src]

The Canaima spider maintained a flat, hairy body with a reddish brown cephalothorax and largely light brown coloration. Its legs were similarly colored, though quite a bit darker on its final leg segments. It was equally capable of both forward and lateral motion. Their fangs were darker-colored and observed to be disproportionately large in comparison to the remainder of their body, which injected venom into prey from their three venom sacs. In addition, drones of the species possessed no reproductive organs.

Taxonomically, the spiders were hypothesized by Dr. James Atherton to be related to the huntsman spider genus *Olias*, though substantially more massive.

## Behavior

Functionally, most—if not all—Canaima spiders acted as drones or "soldiers" under the hierarchical caste system inherited from their father's species. Under this social structure, drones were subject to deployment by a General, who instrumentalized them towards the end of ecological dominance over all other species, including competing predators.

As drones or soldiers deployed to outcompete other predators and attain dominance, Canaima spiders were hyperaggressive, a trait also inherited from their South American progenitor. They possessed a highly neurotoxic venom which could incapacitate and kill a large mammal, such as humans, within a minute. After hatching, they radiated from their central nest in a weblike pattern, preying on all other species.

As subordinate drones, Canaima spiders were not only infertile but entirely devoid of reproductive organs. However, they were also subject to a shorter lifespan. They were also known to engage in swarming behavior, like other insects such as ants.

## Distribution and habitat

The species originated in the forested Canaima, California from the cross-breeding of a foreign Venezuelan spider with a native domestic house spider. They could be exclusively found in the surrounding region, at least until the extinction of the species immediately following their propagation.

## History

### Origin

The Canaima spider was a genetic anomaly resulting from the cross-breeding of two radically different species of spider. Paternally, they descended from an arboreal spider native to the rainforests of the Venezuelan Amazon basin, a highly venomous apex predator with a complex social hierarchy. Maternally, they descended from a common domestic house spider, native to forested regions of the United States and otherwise entirely harmless to mankind.

After the discovery of the Venezuelan species by renowned entomologist Dr. James Atherton of the California Polytechnic Institute, a fertile male specimen of the species, called a General within the species' caste system, was inadvertently shipped to the United States aboard the coffin of its first human victim. When it arrived in the hometown of its victim, Jerry Manley, the General exited and found itself in Canaima, California. There, the specimen bred with a female domestic house spider, conceiving the hybrid.

The spiders constructed a massive and labyrinthine web in the Jennings barn, where the rendezvous took place, and laid the nest of their children. After a short time, the nest hatched and spawned the first generation of hybrid drones, ready for deployment by the General, which were quite smaller then he but just as venomous. Alongside the drones was produced a Queen, which was intended by the General to produce a pure-bred line of the original Venezuelan species.

## Behind the scenes

### Use of real spiders

The spider selected to portray these secondary antagonists of *Arachnophobia* was the Avondale spider (*Delena cancerides*) of New Zealand, which was selected after a so-called "Spider Olympics." Filmmakers tested wolf spiders, different huntsmen spiders, and other species, for such filmable traits as climbing glass, walking on wires, crawling sideways and upside-down, speed, suggestibility, and appearance on camera. Ultimately, the *Delena* spiders won "by far" for their large size, unusually social lifestyle, complete harmlessness, and because the crew was willing to work with them. Marshall was somewhat concerned that the tiny *Delena* spiders would not be frightening, but he hoped that the spiders' lethal bite would evoke the shark of *Jaws* and add an element of ubiquity. Marshall said in a behind-the-scenes interview, "what really works in this movie is that spiders can go anywhere and be hidden anywhere," and that spiders did not have the aquatic limitation of the *Jaws* shark.

Over three hundred individuals were imported from New Zealand to the United States for filming, which involved complex paperwork between both governments. When not on camera, the *Delena* spiders were kept in a "Spider Condominium" with various drawers dividing the spiders by speed, climbing ability, and so forth. They were guided around the set by hair dryers, thin, vibrating wires, miniature leashes tied to their abdomens, and even harmless magnetic plates glued to their bodies. Kutcher found that the spiders particularly avoided lemon-scented Pledge; this was sprayed on surfaces to form a "path" that the spiders refused to cross. They were put to sleep after filming through the use of carbon dioxide. Other shots employed inanimate "dummy spiders" crafted by special effects artist Chris Walas. Finally, another shot—one of hundreds of spiders crawling on the exterior of the house—was completed by Industrial Light & Magic using some of the earliest computer-generated imagery (CGI).

While shooting, the filmmakers often found that patience was key; shots would be repeated several times over before the spider "accidentally" performed the desired effect. The spiders' inconsistency put some amount of pressure on the cast; since the spiders were so unreliable, the cast had to perform correctly every take on the off-chance that the spiders also performed correctly. Their volatility became such a recurring issue that the crew formed a "Spider Lotto" to bet on the number of takes the spider would need to perform perfectly. In what was considered by far the most difficult shot—in which a spider crawls into a bowl of microwave popcorn prepared by Roy Brocksmith's character Irv Kendall—Brocksmith won the lotto. Another particularly difficult shot—consuming 46 takes— was filmed in a little girl's bedroom, but was ultimately cut from the movie. Other times, Marshall simply "let it be" and allow the spider to perform how it wished. For instance, the shot of spiders swarming out of the drain came better than anyone anticipated. For the shot of Dr. Atherton's corpse crawling with spiders, Marshall was at first stunted by the *Delena* spiders scattering before the shot could be completed; eventually, the filmmaker elected to use a holed-out fencing mask to funnel the spiders onto actor Julian Sands' face before shooting. Sands, who fortunately does not suffer from arachnophobia, found the shot quite challenging, but placed himself in a calm "zen" state while several different shots were taken.

The actors responded differently to the *Delena* spiders, which were called "grunts" on set. Marshall found the cast and crew naturally skittish around them, but everyone understood that they were not dangerous. The cast were given tutorials and orientations on handling the spiders, and they were were placed on cast members prior to filming to acclimate them to their touch. The child actors and actresses showed more boldness with the spiders than the adults. Goodman had no issue with the spiders, saying, "We see each other eye to eye—well, two eyes to their sixteen." Daniels was also comfortable with the *Delena* spiders, as long as they refrained from crawling on his face. However, at least one shot required just that—specifically, while shooting the scene in which a swarming spider lands on Daniels, Marshall was unsatisfied by how the spiders appeared on Daniels' brown plaid shirt. Marshall approached Daniels and asked, according to the latter's memory, "Is it possible—could we toss the spider onto your face?" Daniels agreed, later arguing that he did it "for the glamor" of the big-budget feature, and that "if they had been throwing snakes in my face I probably would have gone into therapy. But I'm alright with spiders." The actor did not attend the spider acclimation tutorial to stay in-character as a severe arachnophobe.

Great care went into ensuring that no spiders were harmed during production. For instance, when exterminator Delbert McClintock sprays a spider with insecticide and squashes it underneath his shoe, a rubber spider was sprayed, and a hollowed-out boot was substituted so that the real spider remained unharmed. The whole scene took hours to film; John Goodman recalled that the spider would curl inside the boot and linger there until the next filming. The scene in which Becky Beechwood is attacked by a spider in the shower, an homage to *Psycho*, was filmed using a fake sink and drain. When spider corpses were needed, filmmakers used those that died from natural causes. To create the sound effects of spiders being stepped on or squished, Foley artists stepped on mustard packs or squashed potato chips. For the sound effect of the spiders crawling through the heating ducts, long fingernails were used on pieces of tin to create the scurrying sound. Actor Stuart Pankin believed that the cast and crew succeeded in not harming the creatures.

Marshall resolved that the film would be his last time working with arthropods. After the film was released, urban myths persisted that venomous spiders had escaped from the *Arachnophobia* crew's custody and were lurking in Warner Bros. studios. Marshall dispelled the myth in an interview with Amblin Entertainment; for years he "would get calls about spiders on the stage at Warner's, but no, we didn't have any poisonous spiders."

### Scientific plausibility

Scientifically, hybridization of species is possible to some degree. For instance, the Africanized bee originated from human efforts to cross-breed bees that would optimize honey production. However, typically such hybrid speciation occurs between species that are more closely related, genetically and phylogenetically, than the species depicted in the movie, which are almost certainly of distinct genera. In fact, the real *Delena cancerides* species used in the movie is susceptible of multiple "chromosomal races," which have been known to hybridize.

## Appearances

1. ARACHNOPHOBIA (first appearance)
2. ARACHNOPHOBIA novel
3. ARACHNOPHOBIA: Official Movie Adaptation
4. ARACHNOPHOBIA video game
5. *Know Your Eight-Legged Enemy: The Authoritative Guide on Spider Eradication* (mentioned only)

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 ARACHNOPHOBIA novel at p. 90
2. ↑ No taxonomic or common name for the species is given in the material.
3. ↑ Based on figures for the Avondale spiders used to portray the Canaima spiders in the film
4. ↑ ARACHNOPHOBIA novel at p. 90
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 *Thrills, Chills & Spiders: The Making of* Arachnophobia ( Available on YouTube on YouTube)
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 Awalt, Steven. Along Came a Director: Frank Marshall on the Making of 'Arachnophobia'. Amblin Entertainment. July 17, 2020.
7. ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 Gregg Kilday, Charles Fleming, and Benjamin Svetkey. "*Arachnophobia.*" *Entertainment Weekly.* No. 24. July 27, 1990.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Mitchell, Sean. How They Got the Bugs Out: Insects: When they needed spiders for ‘Arachnophobia,’ a species from New Zealand answered the casting call. *Los Angeles Times.* July 18, 1990.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Beresford, Jack. How Arachnophobia Became the Perfect Creepy Crawly Horror Comedy. *Den of Geek.* October 11, 2020.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Turan, Kenneth. Film; Don't Look Now, But the Spiders Are Coming! *The New York Times.* April 15, 1990.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 *Arachnophobia* (1990) at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 Shapiro, Marc. *Arachnophobia Spins Its Web.*. *Fangoria*. No. 95. August 1990.
13. ↑ Actor Found 'Arachnophobia' Co-Stars No Big Hairy Deal. *Orlando Sentinel*. July 20, 1990.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Filming Spiders Without Getting Antsy: 'Arachnophobia Director Keeps His Sense of Humor.' *Orlando Sentinel*. July 26, 1990.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1  Q&A with Julian Sands at 2022 Texas Frightmare Weekend on YouTube
16. ↑  Famous Hollywood and Disney Actor Stuart Pankin - Celebrity Interview - Chris' Arcade on YouTube
17. ↑  Interview w/ Actor Stuart Pankin (Dinosaurs/Arachnophobia/Mannequin Two) on YouTube
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1  S3:E8 - An Interview with Stuart Pankin on YouTube
19. ↑  Stuart Pankin - Interview on The RockStop with Chris Contra on YouTube
20. ↑  Harley Jane Kozak - Arachnophobia Interview 1990 on YouTube
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3  Jeff Daniels Breaks Down His Most Iconic Characters  on YouTube
22. ↑ Gamble, Rick. "A stinging commentary." *Expositor*, Brantford, Ontario: April 22, 2006, pg. D7.
23. ↑ Hancock, A.J., Rowell, D.M. 1995: A chromosomal hybrid zone in the Australian huntsman spider, *Delena cancerides* (Araneae: Sparassidae). Evidence for a hybrid zone near Canberra, Australia. *Australian Journal of Zoology*, 43(2): 173–180.