Curiosities 10 - The Brazilian Air Force Against the Spiders
João Henrique Barboza Jorgetto • Apr 23, 2023
The Brazilian Air Force has merits and moments of glory throughout its history. Created during World War II, the Allied forces recognized the Brazilian Air Force's actions as courageous. Since then, the Brazilian Air Force has protected the Brazilian skies and natural resources, operating with maximum quality despite equipment limitations.
There are, however, some curious cases in which the FAB was used for missions not very usual for its pilots. One occurred in 1961 in Rio de Janeiro, which will be told now.
With the purpose of creating an artificial island to house the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, the Federal government, still in the 50s, decided to start working in Guanabara Bay. Little by little, the landfill was being transported and Ilha do Fundão took shape. At its end was a very swampy place, with black mud and dense forest, where some adventurers took the risk of hunting the crabs that lived there. There was also the habitat of an arachnid that would cause many problems in the following decade.
In May 1961, stories of spider attacks on nearby residents emerged. First, two fishermen were stung while handling their nets on the edge of the mangrove. Afterward, a woman was stung while walking near the undergrowth. Then another case, this time of a child bitten by a spider inside his clothes in the wardrobe. Cases possibly occurred, but the story took on more significant proportions. New information was passed by the rumors that ran in the city. The victims, previously only medicated, were now fatal victims of a powerful poisonous spider. Fear grew in every street in Rio de Janeiro. Immediately some specialists went to collect information about the incident and discovered that the spider responsible for the incident was the "Latrodectus curacaviensis", known as "Flamenguinha" for its colors. The spider is the "cousin" of the famous Black Widow, but not even close to the mortality of her murderous relative.
In July of the same year, the situation began to deteriorate. Unsatisfied with the situation, residents of villages on the island sought out the press. Soon, articles began to appear showing that thousands of spiders had left their swampy habitat and were now moving across the entire island region, threatening those living there. One journalist described the scene as "a carpet of spiders walking quickly through all areas, huts, beaches and roads". Of local fear, the situation became a national matter. President Jânio Quadros ordered that something be done to stop the imminent threat: the war against spiders was declared there.
For this mission, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) was called and a plan was immediately outlined. Jets would take off with Napalm firebombs and attack the central point of the infestation. With everything ready, the jets took to the skies and launched their bombs against the mangrove at the island's tip, causing an inferno of flames over the poor spiders living there. As if the Brazilian Air Force's strong attack were not enough, military personnel from the army launched an amphibious "attack" on the island, equipped with gasoline tanks and flamethrowers, burning everything that was still breathing in the place, accompanied by members of the health surveillance whose mission was to ensure that the problem would be resolved.
End of the story? The end of the war? No way. The "flamenguinhas" spiders had an exceptional secret weapon. They can travel great distances using a method called "ballooning". When they needed to move or were the target of strong winds, this spider species created a "parachute" of webs and could glide to a safer place. The Napalm explosion created a massive displacement that caused the spiders to spread throughout the island and surroundings, reaching Barra da Tijuca and Niterói!
Environmentalists and zoologists heavily criticized the action at the time. One in particular, Herman Lent, an entomologist at the Osvaldo Cruz Institute, wrote a report stating that the disproportionate use of force only increased the spiders' area of activity and that the simple use of a common insecticide on a large scale would be much more efficient. He also mentioned that the venom of the flamenguinha was weak and that the population could rest assured that, in a short time, this phenomenon of infestation would disappear. In a short time later, the infestation was ended and remained only the stories of the day when the nature showed that it knows how to counterattack.