i live in western washington and theres a spider that looks like a black widow without the red on the stomach?

Question

what type of spider is it? we've always been curious and always think they're black widows

the spider im talking about looks just like a black widow spider from above but doesn't have any red markings.

Answer 1

Well you must understand that the family that the true black widows belong to is actually a very common and widely dispersed one. The entire family (Theridiidae) can be found on all corners of the globe. They are commonly referred to as the "comb-foot spiders) or "cob-web weavers". the spider you are seeing could simply be the common "house spider" I don't like to use common names......but it could be.
All members of this family are "black-widow" like in appearance although the vast majority are of no danger what so ever.

I have attached a page with all sorts of representatives from this family, have a look and compare to see if maybe you could find the one you've seen

Good Luck!
http://bugguide.net/node/view/1960

Just click on the word Theridiidae on the top of the page and more images will pop up.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

It's usually very difficult to identify a spider without some sort of magnification. It's especially difficult to identify without having at least a picture. There are a lot of spider families that look similar to black widows. However, if you don't see any red at all on the belly it is NOT a black widow. That does not mean that it is not poisonous, it's just not a black wido.

Answer 3

possibly whats called a false black widow. in link below scroll down to a little past 1/4 quarter of page and read the description of false black widow. it says in Seattle, most mature females show no dorsal markings. i would say this is probably a 75% guarantee of what you have seen. its says in Seattle but i dont know why only these spiders in Seattle wouldnt have the markings and not ones outside of Seattle. i dont know though. click link below to see. by the way, black widows are dangerous. although deaths are rare, they do have a bad bite. deaths are usually because of allergic reactions to either spider or whatever they use to treat bites. just dont touch and you wont have to worry. the false black widow also have a bite are usually not serious. not trying to fill you up with a bunch of fears, just want you to be careful and not get bitten. the more you know about it, the less chance you have of getting bit.

http://www.zoo.org/mow/facts.html