Black Widow Spider
Distribution
Description
DANGERS:
Considered the most venomous
spider in the United States, the
venom of a female black widow
spider is 15 times as toxic as the
venom of a rattlesnake.
Fortunately, black widows only
bite when disturbed
The black widow’s venom is
neurotoxic.
Female black widows are shiny black, with a
red-orange hourglass pattern on their
abdomen. Male black widows are not black,
but brown or gray with small red spots.
Black widows are poisonous arachnids—
animals that have a skeleton outside their
body, a segmented body, and eight jointed
legs. They are the most venomous spiders in
North America; however, their bite is rarely
fatal to humans. Female black widows can
grow to be about 1-½ inches around when
their legs are fully extended; the males are
typically about half of the size of the females.
Black Widow
Spider
Signs of a bite
Telltale signs of a black
widow bite include:
One or two bite marks on
the skin, with local swelling
Pain that moves from the
Habitat
The black widow spider is shy and
nocturnal, usually staying hidden in its
web, hanging with its belly upward.
Although not aggressive by nature, a black
widow spider may bite when its web is
disturbed. Typically found outdoors,
though they may move indoors in colder
weather.
bite site to the abdomen and
back
Cramps, muscle aches,
rigidity, profuse sweating,
Appearance
Black widow spiders are easily recognizable.
They have plump, shiny black abdomens that
bear an hourglass-shaped red, red-orange or
yellow mark. Black widows weave erratic
sticky webs that lack any shape or form.
Their silk is stronger than virtually all other
spiders. Other distinguishing features of the
black widow spider include:
nausea, fever and a paralysis
of the diaphragm that can
make breathing difficult
Diet
Black widow spiders feed on the prey that
have the bad luck to get caught in their
strong, silken webs. Besides eating other
arachnids, black widows enjoy a varied diet
of insects including mosquitoes, ants, flies,
beetles, scorpions, grasshoppers and
caterpillars. After ensnaring their prey,
black widow spiders use their hind comb
feet to wrap their victims in silk before
injecting them with digestive enzymes that
liquefy the corpses.
Intetresting Facts
Females
1/2 to 1 1/2 inches long.
a reddish hourglass shape on the underside
of their abdomens.
They eat their mates sometimes
Only adult females inflict dangerous bites
They aren’t always black
Males:
They have intricate webs
Half of female
Females have poor eyesight
yellow and red bands and spots on their
backs
Their bites are rarely fatal
They have the strongest webs