It seems dreadfully counterintuitive that bites from a tiny creature such as a recluse or black widow spider can have disastrous, even lethal consequences for far larger creatures, like humans. How is this possible, given the seemingly insignificant volumes of venom in question?
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in addition to the biochemical-machine explanation, notice that most of the creatures with the most lethal venom are small, fragile invertebrates: fr. ex. the box jellyfish, the cone snail, and the blue-ringed octopus. these are creatures who prey on animals who could easily injure or kill them if they’re not taken out instantly. so they need that potent venom to kill their prey before they have the chance to struggle. this can take many forms, of course, and not all of them are lethal to humans (or at least not so lethal that you can’t save the victim with quick action). but it doesn’t take a lot of venom to kill even a large mammal if it’s potent enough and has the right *kind* of potency.
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