![]() The female averages 8-10 mm in length and has long slender legs and a round abdomen. They usually try to escape rather than bite. These spiders can bite if disturbed, but are not aggressive. Both males and females have dark brown legs and a gray abdomen with light markings on the top of the body. While the black widow’s poison is rarely fatal to humans, it can cause severe pain and nausea. The black widow spider is shiny, coal black in color. The black house spider is a dark colored spider, more bulky and awkward in appearance than widow spiders. ![]() The female black widow is normally shiny black, with a red hourglass marking (see. In fact, the male black widow is reclusive and hardly ever seen by humans. Apply ice to the bite area to slow absorption of the venom. The black widow is prey for birds and other spiders.Īlthough poisonous, the black widow is not considered aggressive unless threatened. The male is about half the female’s size. The female black widow is approximately 1.5 inches (38 millimeters) long. The name “black widow” comes from the female’s habit of eating the male after mating. These three species have very similar physical and behavioral characteristics. Three species of poisonous North American spiders carry the common name black widow under the genus Latrodectus.Įach species occupies a distinct region of North America, as their names suggest: Eastern black widows ( L. These spiders, black widows included, construct sticky, irregular silk webs to ensnare their prey. ![]() After hatching, the baby spiders stay in the cocoon for up to one month. Black widow spiders belong to the spider family Theridiidae, commonly called the cobweb spiders. The eggs incubate for some 20 days in a small, round papery sac that’s attached to the mother’s web. Black widow spider eggs may also be deposited within neglected materials or animal and rodent nests. Barns and other secondary buildings are likely to host these spiders, as well. The female black widow lays approximately 200 eggs. Black widow spider eggs can be found in dark crevices beneath stones and in natural debris such as woodpiles. The tips of the black widow’s legs are coated with an oily substance that prevents the black widow from getting caught in its own web.Īdult male and female black widows live solitary lives, meeting only to breed. ![]()
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