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Tiny orb spider with a bright red abdomen. The length of the body was only 4 mm. The legs are black with a tan area close to the cephalothorax. This looks like a type of widow spider, but I can't find any with this uniform bright red abdomen. The closest is a species of Crustulina but the legs are reddish and not black. (http://bugguide.net/node/view/265587).
Came to an ultraviolet light in the garden, San Cristobal de Las Casas, 2,200 meters.
See also: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/112....
Spotted on Jul 7, 2013
Submitted on Jul 9, 2013
5 Comments
Hi Suzanne, I went through all your suggestions, wow this is a tough one. There are several Theridiids with red-brown abdomens, but nothing really red and with black legs as well. It does seem to be Widow-like and part of the Theridiidae. Thank you so much for all your help!
Spiders aren't my long suit, but put Meta bourneti in Google images. I don't see one with a really vivid red abdomen, and they seem to be from the wrong part of the world, but maybe it will suggest a new line of investigation to you. And there's something called a False Widow that might be worth a look.
Thank you Suzanne and Injica :) Could this be a baby?
that means warning color :)
Looks like a widow of some kind, but the all-red abdomen ... hmm.