A skincare firm has responded to an online of rumors claiming that one in all its merchandise is a magnet for spiders.
It began with a one-star review for Delícia Drench Body Butter, a moisturizing cream from Sol de Janeiro. The evaluation, posted earlier this month on the web site of magnificence retailer Sephora, warned readers in all caps: “SCENT ATTRACTS WOLF SPIDERS.”
The reviewer implored people who find themselves “terrified of wolf spiders” to “be careful,” as a result of supposedly, utilizing the physique butter would “immediately” entice one of many arachnids. (The reviewer additionally described the lotion as “kryptonite” to wolf spiders, though they in all probability meant one thing like “catnip.”)
“One time, the spider wished to eat no matter ingredient it’s so unhealthy that it chased me,” the reviewer claimed. “I swear on the whole lot. I’d run left, it ran left, I ran proper, it ran proper. Prefer it was legit following the scent.”
The testimonial went viral throughout social media, and picked up much more consideration after a Reddit user cited a study suggesting that farnesyl acetate and hexadecyl acetate ― two chemical compounds typically utilized in skincare merchandise ― can mimic pheromones from “sexually receptive” feminine spiders.
The Redditor hypothesized that the physique butter may include these elements, which within the “proper dosage” might entice male spiders searching for mates. The Reddit consumer added that they didn’t really know whether or not the Delícia physique butter comprises these compounds.
On Friday, Sol de Janeiro tried to place the arachnophobia to relaxation. In an announcement posted on its Instagram Tales, the corporate stated its merchandise don’t include any of the elements that would purportedly entice spiders.
“Whereas they might entice loads of consideration from folks, they received’t from arachnids (although we love all creatures at Sol de Janeiro),” the assertion stated.
Spider consultants additionally say that even when the product did have these elements, it in all probability wouldn’t turn out to be irresistible to wolf spiders.
“It’s HIGHLY unlikely that the pores and skin cream firm via random probability mixed sufficient issues in simply the proper proportion to imitate a spider compound,” Dr. Floyd Shockley, chair of the Smithsonian Nationwide Museum of Pure Historical past’s Entomology Committee, told The New York Times in an electronic mail.
And Dr. George Uetz, a professor of organic sciences on the College of Cincinnati, noted to the New York Post that farnesyl acetate and hexadecyl acetate haven’t been proven to draw wolf spiders, however different species of spider.
North American wolf spiders eat bugs, and are typically between 1 / 4 of an inch and an inch lengthy (not together with their legs). Whereas they might chew if “mishandled or trapped subsequent to the pores and skin,” their bites don’t pose any severe medical points, in accordance with data from Pennsylvania State University’s agricultural extension.
