Bad Day to be a Black Widow Male

This is Stella, the widow that lives in a terrarium on my desk. In the right of the picture is a male widow as best as I can tell, but after being out of town for 4 days, there wasn't much remaining, but the body shape, white markings, etc. make me think so. Now for the creepy part. I have no idea how it got in there as her terrarium is sealed except when I feed her a couple of times a week. None the less, bet he wishes he hadn't have figured out a way in. Guess I will know for sure when an egg sac appears. Thanks for looking.

comments (8)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Living on the edge! Your mystery has me intrigued. It also reminds me of a story I read on reddit recently about a guy who had a jar just like this, with an egg sack included. In his attempt to move the jar, he tripped, and you can guess what happened: hundreds of baby widows spread throughout his house. Apparently, in his state that would trigger a law to burn down your house, yet he didn't.

Not trying to scare you, just be very careful. After all, we need follow-up photos ;) Posted 11 years ago

Lilygirl

Lion

They do make such messy webs don't they. Posted 11 years ago
1. barefootinalabama
  
  Katipo Spider
  
  Yes, they are one of the worst, even of the cobweb building spiders. If they could build like an orbweaver, it would just about be the perfect spider. @fchristant, no worries, I don't carry her around much. I have had them since my kids were very small (now both in my twenties) with the first one I ever found, I used as a learning tool for my kids to avoid. They are very dangerous, but they are also very docile and you would really have to work to make it bite you by touching it, etc. I would take a black widow vs. a wasp anyday, I hate wasps and probably the only insect that terrifies me. Posted 11 years ago
2. 1. Lilygirl
    
    Lion
    
    Yes, I have noticed that they are not aggresive. Posted 11 years ago
  2. 1. Lilygirl
      
      Lion
      
      I have uploaded a couple of pictures of, what I believe, is a Wolf Spider. Maybe you could take a look at them and see if you could verify thai. We are located in Canton, Georgia...not too far from where you are...so maybe you have seen one of these Posted 11 years ago
  3. Barry
    
    Lion
    
    Ha ha, yes, wasps are really annoying. In Southern Germany where i live they are terrible in the autumn and make enjoying a meal on your terrace almost impossible. Still, waspy are mostly annoying, the thing I really fear are hornets! They make me want to run. Posted 8 years ago

morpheme

Lion

lol… the burn your house down comment on Reddit was someone BSing. As far as I can find there's absolutely no grounds for condemning a house over a spider infestation, even if they are black widows. Though if the male was able to get in somehow, does make you wonder if the babies could get out….. the description of hundreds of baby black widows parachuting around the house was both giggle and creep inducing. We've not got any poisonous spiders here, but we do have wolf spiders, that I generally have a live and let live policy for. It is a bit of a pain when there's a hatch of spiderlings. They don't exactly parachute, but we do see tiny spiders doing their best mission impossible impression down from the ceiling. Fortunately if they bite all you get is an itchy welt, similar to a mosquito bite. Posted 11 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Ah well, it was reddit, some over there are experts in coming across as convincing :) I wasn't sure what to believe.
  
  Quick note: if you're responding to a comment, it is best to use the "reply" option below that comment, otherwise the person you are responding to will not get a notification. Posted 11 years ago

The Southern black widow

''Latrodectus mactans'', the Southern black widow, is a highly venomous species of spider in the genus ''Latrodectus''. They are well known for the distinctive black and red coloring of the female of the species and for the fact that she will occasionally eat her mate after reproduction. The species is native to the United States of America, Canada and Mexico. The venom is seldom fatal to healthy humans, and less than one percent of bitten people die.

Info 5 0

Similar species: Spiders

Species identified by barefootinalabama