The Hidden Venomous Creatures of Florida's Secret Islands

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]In the light here, you can see just how brightly colored they are. This is the red widow, and as its name suggests, it's related to the black widow. Those bright orange legs, bright red seephlothorax, and that iconic pattern on the abdomen is unmistakable for the red widow. And the fact that we're in this kind of scrub habitat, there's not really anything else that this could be.

[00:00:22]What if I told you that in the middle of Florida wilderness, there were secret islands? islands that were full of unique venomous creatures found nowhere else on Earth. I'm not talking about the Florida Keys. Hidden in plain sight in pockets of wilderness on the mainland are strange white sand scrublands. Turns out these sandy ridges are the remnants of ancient islands from when most of mainland Florida was underwater tens of thousands of years ago. These unique stretches of habitat are home to highly endemic wildlife found nowhere else on Earth, and many of them have evolved to become incredibly venomous. These sandy habitats with the low-lying vegetation and blistering heat almost mimic desert habitats found throughout the world. And as a result, the animals here have been pushed to the absolute extreme. These guys aren't quite as in cover as black and brown widows are. So, they need that bright coloration over their entire body to say, "Hey, stay back. I am incredibly venomous, and if you get too close, you're going to regret it." And highly venomous is correct. The red widow is among the most venomous creatures of the Florida scrublands. But how do we know that something is more venomous than something else? We have a system that we can use to rank how venomous or how toxic an animal actually is. We measure venom potency in terms of lethal dose where the lower the number, the more powerful the venom because it basically takes less of that venom to kill you.

[00:02:01]The red widow comes in at a score of 2.2 which is up there with many of our venomous snakes here in the US. And while they might be highly toxic, the red widow is not the only venomous animal that's lurking in the vegetation of this unique scrubland ecosystem. Oh, have a look at this. We've seen a few of them so far. This is a nice size one, though. This is a nice buck moth caterpillar. These are the larae of some of the giant North American silk moths.

[00:02:29]This one is a pretty gnarly one. See this caterpillar right here? The reason I'm handling them on the stick right now is they are extremely venomous. One wrong touch and you're gonna get a really, really painful sting. Now, you're probably thinking, Spencer, what do you mean the caterpillar is venomous?

[00:02:43]Doesn't have fangs. Doesn't have a stinger. Actually, it does have stingers. All down its back, those hairs are barbed, venomous stingers. Each of those barbs is branched, so it can shoot venom in multiple directions, creating a larger area of pain and irritation. Now, this is not a medically significant caterpillar. It's not going to kill you unless you have like a severe allergic reaction or something, but it's going to make you wish you were dead for a few minutes. And that defense mechanism allows them to survive in bulk out here.

[00:03:13]They're doing really well, and there's not a whole lot of things that can eat them. The interesting thing about insect venoms is most of them are extremely underststudied, and that's exactly the case with this buck moth caterpillar.

[00:03:26]Their sting is excruciatingly painful, but actual work on its toxicity has never been done. So, as far as how it ranks in the venom scale of the Florida Scrublands is still a mystery. It's possible, like many of the solitary wasps, that this caterpillar's venom is evolved entirely to produce pain and not really to kill. And with many of these solitary wasps, we see them ranking fairly low on toxicity. But until we know more, the buck moth caterpillar is actually a huge mystery. And there are other venomous creatures lurking in the vegetation of these habitats as well.

[00:04:03]But they're not using it in the same way that the red widows and buck moths are.

[00:04:08]Some creatures use the bark of trees as a temporary refuge before they come out at night to hunt for prey.

[00:04:15]>> Right in there. Can you see them?

[00:04:18]That'll work.

[00:04:22]There we go. So, what we've got right here is a striped bark scorpion. It's kind of crazy to think about. We usually think of scorpions as being desert arachnids, but they actually live in tropical environments, too. Here in Florida, it's just humid and hot enough for these bizarre arachnids to thrive.

[00:04:37]Like its name suggests, the stripe bark scorpion is related to the highly venomous bark scorpions of Arizona in the same genus, centroidides. The thing is, all scorpions are venomous and only a handful of them are actually dangerous. Outside of the medically significant ones, scorpion venom is largely underststudied like many insect venoms. But some studies suggest the striped bark scorpion comes in at a toxicity of around eight. This is a little bit more toxic than a copper head, but in the grand scheme of venomous wildlife, and especially at their tiny size, it means their sting is painful. but not particularly dangerous to humans. These scorpions are shy, secretive creatures, preferring to stick to the shadows and tuck themselves away in the bark of trees, which is actually where they get their name. Many of these white sand scrublands are nestled within the longleaf pine savanas of central and southern Florida, making for perfect habitat for these bizarre bark dwelling arachnids. Absolutely incredible though.

[00:05:41]Beautiful, bizarre looking little creature, like something out of a dinosaur museum. And they look so prehistoric or maybe science fiction or maybe a little bit of both. They are really incredible and relatively unchanged in millions of years of evolution. How about that? The bizarre evolution of the scrubland habitat doesn't stop at the scorpion. In fact, this sunbaked habitat is teeming with really unusual life if you know where to look. I'm joined by my friend Mikey Green from the YouTube channel Cool Critters because he has a very unique way of peeling back the curtain on the secret world of Florida's hidden islands.

[00:06:20]>> There's one. You got one?

[00:06:22]>> Yeah. Neonella Venula right here.

[00:06:25]>> Oh, it is tiny. Look at that next to his finger.

[00:06:27]>> You probably can't even see it in this frame because this is actually the smallest jumping spider in the world.

[00:06:33]This is a large adult and it's like a millimeter and a half long. See, we're out here sifting through leaf litter, through pine needles, through sand to find these tiny little spiders. Spiders that compared to them, a grain of sand is a boulder. That is ridiculous how small these things are. But that is actually perfect for their survival strategy. These guys are tiny and that means it can be very difficult to survive in the hot blistering sun of this scrub oak habitat. And as a result, they're actually living in that second layer of top soil where it's nice and damp and moist during the day. And they're feeding on little mites and springtails. That's pretty much the only thing small enough for them to eat.

[00:07:16]Don't get me wrong, this is a venomous spider. They have venom just like most other spiders on the planet. But I mean, the size of this thing, there's no chance it could ever be dangerous to a human. This would almost be more likely to be a parasite or something than actually be something that could bite us. But they're not parasitic. They're just little tiny ambush predators that are hunting through that matrix. And jumping spiders the size of grains of sand are not the only unusual creatures that Mikey knows how to find. He has a very interesting trick to lure out one of the Scrubland's most unusual species of ant. All right, so you might be wondering, what am I doing looking at these ants while I'm eating a granola bar? Good question. I'm actually going to share this granola bar with these ants. You can see there are now so many more minors and a major just came out and two more and three more majors and they're just storming out of this colony. What we have right here are called big headed ants and their minor workers. These little tiny little dudes, they're like the regular ants. They're kind of fast. They're kind of orange, but their major workers are probably some of the most unusual, ridiculous looking ants you've ever seen. Look at the giant heads on the major workers.

[00:08:24]This is how these ants got the name big-headed ants. These things are literally all head. It's kind of a wonder they're even able to move around.

[00:08:32]The craziest part is these ants are all clones. Even though they look vastly different, these different casts of workers have the same DNA. Many species of ants have evolved to have different classes of workers that serve different roles in the maintenance of the nest.

[00:08:50]Minor workers, like these tiny little orange ones, are simply just scouts.

[00:08:55]They go out of the nest, they forage for food. If something is small enough for them to carry, they'll bring it back.

[00:09:00]But if they find something large, like Mikey's granola bar, they recruit these super strong majors to help them haul those resources back home. There is another species of ant that also has ridiculous looking major workers that actually is a super toxic power of the Florida scrublands. Oh, have a look at this right here. This is a colony of Florida harvester ants. These animals right here are one of the most venomous insects, not just in Florida, but the world. Coming in at a score of 0.43, the Florida harvester ant is the most venomous creature we've seen so far. As we've been climbing the venom scale of the Florida scrublands, this puts them not just more toxic than the red widow we covered earlier, but most species of black widow. The Florida harvest rant is so toxic that there are very few snakes in the US that can outclass the venom of this insect. What's crazy is I'm laying just inches from their nest, but they have no desire to do me any harm. They may be highly venomous, but the harvester ant is not inclined to use its powerful sting. Wow, look at that. I haven't featured nearly enough ants or other himopterins, bees, ants, and wasps on the channel, but I'm super happy to be able to work with a Florida harvester ant in the wild. And this scrub environment is full of all kinds of fascinating ant species. What looks like barren sand at first glance is hiding a treasure trove of unusual subterranean creatures. While the harvester ant might be the most venomous of the invertebrates, it's certainly not the most terrifying. Underneath fallen logs and pieces of debris, there is a much more insidious predator that hunts in the underworld of Florida's secret islands.

[00:10:54]That's a blue.

[00:10:56]>> They are fat. They don't mess around.

[00:10:59]All right. Yeah, these guys do not mess around. That is what I've been looking for for a very long time. This is definitely a centipede worth taking a closer look at. This may not look that big, but this is one of the North American giant centipedes, the Scolapendra. This is an actual cousin to the Texas redheaded or the giant desert centipede, even though it's a lot smaller. You might be asking, Spencer, is this something you'd be nervous about? I've been bitten by much larger scolopendra before and it wasn't as bad as you would think. So, a little one like this is not something that I'm too Ow.

[00:11:33]>> He bit you.

[00:11:35]>> Man, he's grumpy.

[00:11:36]>> This is the Florida blue centipede. It's the smallest of the North American giant centipedes, but it's still a pretty impressive myriod. We're not 100% sure where its venom ranks, but like the common desert centipede, it probably comes in at a score around 100. They're not incredibly toxic, but their venom is quite painful. And a skullendra centipede will actually have decently strong venom for a centipede. And actually, one of the key characteristics they have is something called a myiotoxin. So, it comes to venom, we usually think about heotoxins and neurotoxins with spiders and snakes, things that attack the blood and the nerves. But the centipedes, especially giant centipedes in the genus scolopendra, have a myotoxin that actually does it attacks the muscles and causes them to overly contract. If you do get a proper bite from one of these, you can expect to have a much more achy, throbbing pain. For many of these small invertebrate predators, venom is an extremely useful tool. It may cause painful bites and stings to us, but at the end of the day, it's for their food and for their survival. The centipede might be much more bite happy than many of the other things on this list so far, and it may be terrifying to look at, but it is far from the top dog predator that roams the sand of the Florida scrub.

[00:12:52]Scattered throughout these sandy hills are tiny round holes. And you might be thinking it's an entrance to an ant colony or something, but in actuality, these are the gateway to the den of one of the apex invertebrate predators of this habitat. And if you know how to lure them out, you can get a look at these giant predators.

[00:13:14]>> Spencer has found the burrow of a sand burrowing wolf spider, a geolyosa.

[00:13:22]>> This is the strategy sometimes.

[00:13:24]>> There he comes. There he goes. There he comes. There he comes. There he comes.

[00:13:25]Here he comes.

[00:13:30]>> Got him.

[00:13:31]>> Wow, it's massive. That is the biggest geolyosa I have ever seen. Have a look at this spider right here. That's probably one of the most special things we could have possibly found in this habitat. That is a burrowing wolf spider. This is even rarer than the red widows on this ridge if you'd believe that. And look at that. Look at the size of that thing. That is not a small spider. What I love about these wolf spiders is the burrowing ones, the geolyosa have this crazy domed head. And I think part of that helps with just carving out that burrow. They build these perfectly round vertical burrows deep into the ground and they're using that to hunt for prey. They almost live more of a megalomorphesque lifestyle entirely underground. She's probably very confused that there's light. Unlike most of the other wolf spiders, these are not really active hunters. They line their burrows with silk, very much like a trapdoor spider, and they're waiting and watching for little insects to kind of walk ever too close to the edge. What I love about these spiders is just how exaggerated their features are. You can see with wolf spiders, they tend to have those kind of like buck teeth right in the front. Those huge tisser, the anatomy that house their fangs. These guys, they're even bigger. I don't know what it is about these subterranean spiders having giant fangs right there in the front. Look at the size of those things. That is incredible. Now, I don't know if that really serves any particular purpose for the spider, but doesn't matter too much cuz this one is no threat to me. What's crazy is uh some of the species of these guys are super super super defensive when they pop out of their burrows. They'll somersault over themselves, flaring those fangs, showing those front four legs. Crazy threat poses. But um it's actually a little chilly today. It's it's kind we're kind of coming to the end of winter here in Florida. And in that same cold fashion, this spider is not super heated up, not super agitated, and is honestly probably just confused as to why we have disturbed its day. These burrowing wolf spiders are a well-hidden secret of the Florida scrublands. But these ancient habitats hide even more bizarre life. You may not realize it, but the scrub oaks and palmettos that line these ridges are actually extremely old. They look like little shrubby growths, but this is in fact an old growth forest. If you find stretches of white sand scrub with these saw palmettos and short woody oak bushes, you are looking at primary habitat.

[00:15:56]Habitat that has been relatively undisturbed for hundreds, if not thousands of years. And that means that some of the more rare and special wildlife of Florida wilderness also take refuge here. It's not a scrubland endemic, but slinking through these white sand habitats is a mythical creature among North American reptiles.

[00:16:17]One of the most venomous creatures of the Florida scrub and the world's largest rattlesnake, the eastern diamondback. This right here is a beautiful young adult male. And look at the size of that snake right there. Not even a big eastern diamond back, but definitely an impressive snake. And these guys have some of the longest fangs of any snake in the Western Hemisphere. In fact, among rattlesnakes.

[00:16:42]Not only are they the largest rattlesnake, but they have the largest fangs proportional to their body. How metal is that? Huge, huge fangs like hypodermic needles that inject a viral venom. It's incredible how their venom works. It's a heotoxin. It attacks the blood, the cardiovascular system of their prey, which is great if you're a mammal hunter. Coming in at a score of 1.2, too. These rattlesnakes are incredibly toxic. And not only is their venom potent at their size, they have an absurd venom yield. A bite from this snake has enough venom to kill me 10 times over, and it's wildly unpleasant.

[00:17:20]Their hemotoxic venom gets to work quickly, destroying your blood and tissues, causing an immensely painful bite. The eastern diamondback truly is a force of nature and should be respected.

[00:17:34]The nice thing is these snakes usually stick to their camouflage. They're ambush hunters lying in wait for prey, not active aggressive animals. They have no desire to waste that venom on us if we don't give them a reason to bite. But the eastern diamondback is neither the most venomous of the scrublands denisens nor the most secretive. That title goes to our next snake. Have a look at this little guy. guy right here. What we have right here is a gorgeous eastern coral snake. One of my favorite reptiles in all of North America. One of the reasons why is that amazing bright coloration.

[00:18:10]You can see right here they have a really incredible banded coloration.

[00:18:14]Now, a lot of people will often say that you can use a rhyme to identify them.

[00:18:18]They'll say something like red on yellow, kill a fellow, red and black, venom black. But that's actually a really really unhelpful rhyme in most of the world. that's only useful in the southeast US. And even then, you can see right here, look, there's there's black sections inside his red banding. He's in shed. His colors are not super bright.

[00:18:36]So, you might see this and think, "Oh, you know, he's not that bright colored.

[00:18:40]Maybe he's not dangerous." And you might actually risk handling him a little too halfhazardly and get a very, very serious bite. Coming in at a score of 0.18, the eastern coral snake is among the most venomous snakes in the US and by far the most venomous creature of the Florida scrublands and its venom is extremely dangerous. Unlike the hemotoxic bite of the rattlesnake, the coral snake has a neurotoxic venom.

[00:19:07]These snakes hunt other reptiles in the subterranean world of this habitat and their venom turns off the nervous system of its victims. What's more is antivenenom isn't regularly available for coral snakes in the US. Because these snakes are so rare, it's not profitable to keep antivenenom on hand, which means if you're bitten by this snake, treatment can be extraordinarily difficult because their bite is neurotoxic. It's also relatively painless and their venom is kind of slow acting. Can be a few hours before you notice symptoms. So, it's possible you might not even realize that anything happened when you're bitten by this snake. Deaths have actually occurred in recent history for this very same reason. People pick these snakes up underestimating the reptile because they're typically fairly docil, take a bite, and feel nothing initially, so they don't seek medical attention. Then, hours later, they start to have symptoms similar to that of a stroke as their body slowly turns off. Once you lose the ability to breathe, the clock starts ticking on your demise. The coral snake is a true chemical power and one of the most impressive predators in this ecosystem. How amazing is it that a small little snake like this packs a potent chemical power that is so strong it can kill a human as large as I am?

[00:20:30]That is just wonderful and one of the most unique little secrets of the natural world and why we absolutely love coral snakes. The Florida scrublands are one of the most extreme habitats in North America. These scorching ancient islands have pushed a host of unusual wildlife to some of the most extreme adaptations on the face of the earth. We normally associate the world's most venomous wildlife with the outback of Australia. And the reason for that is the outback of Australia is quite the extreme habitat. Harsh conditions offer challenges and only the creatures that can rise to those challenges are able to reproduce and survive. When venom is a big part of your lifestyle, these extreme conditions oftent times lead to the evolution of extremely powerful venoms. But what if I told you that the world's most venomous lizard isn't from the outback of Australia, but actually found right here in the US? That's right. The iconic Hilo monster of Arizona is hiding one of the most potent toxic secrets of the reptile world. But its story gets far more unusual than that. If you'd like to learn more about the Hila monster and learn the secrets of its unique venom, check out this video right here. Hope to see you there.

[00:21:49]But until next time, don't forget to get outside and find your own adventure.