Black Widow Spider?

Question

can someone give me some info on black widow spiders

information, no websites!

Thanks.

Answer 1

Where I live they are VERY common.
The female is venomous. (Actually the male has venom too, but doesn't have the mouthparts to bite a human.) She has a round shiny black abdomen. She can be up to 1.5 inches long including legs; but most are smaller. She has a red hourglass shaped spot on her belly, but in the natural course of events you don't usually see the belly. It's better to recognize the round shiny black abdomen. The male is smaller and brown. It's true that the female often eats the male after mating, but this is not unusual in spiders and insect-eating insects. Newly hatched babies also eat each other.
Although the female is venomous, people hardly ever get bitten. Widows are not aggressive. The way people usually do get bitten is if the spider gets trapped under the clothing and then get pressed against the skin. So you see, the people who get bitten are often plumbers, electricians, or other people who crawl into dark spaces. As a child I spent many hours playing in the garage, and often came across black widows in the rafters, wood pile, and around stored items. Neither I nor any of my friends ever got bitten. And nobody seemed much worried that we would.
The bite is hardly ever deadly, by the way. The symptoms are mainly muscle cramps and abdominal pains and tremor. A visit to the doctor is necessary only if the symptoms are severe.
Black widows don't like living in the house. They are found in more secluded areas like the garage, the basement, in wood piles, and various outdoor locations. Widows create an irregular shaped cobweb. I've seen black widows in their webs on the mailbox and on the fence and on a rosebush; so you never know.

Answer 2

3 types of Black Widows in United States.

Adult Females have a red hourglass shape on abdomen.

Males and Juveniles are harmless.

This spider is venomous and can harm people. However, the female injects such a small dose of venom that it rarely causes death. Reports indicate human mortality at well less than 1% from black widow spider bites.

Habitat includes undisturbed woods, in stumps, or in stone walls.

The web is typically a 3-dimensional, unorganized mass of silk spun in a dark crevice or corner. The web is sticky, and very strong. If the web is active (in use), the female will be in or very near the web.

Answer 3

Latrodectus matrans
They lay up to 1000 eggs per year which they guard in round silk egg sacs.
They construct irregular webs.
They exhibit sexual dimorphism with the females the larger.
The females are venomous.
They have a comb-like row of stout bristles on their hindlegs.