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Project Noah Nature School
Latrodectus mactans
My grandma told me about this black widow that was living on her back porch (knowing I like spiders). On a trip to her house, I brought my camera, and when I went out there, there was a male on the web! He was looking for a mate, but she wasn't very interested. In the 3rd photo, he appears to be on her, but I don't know if he successfully mated or not. You can see his enlarged pedipalps in the 2nd photo.
On my grandma's back porch
Sorry the photos aren't the best in quality. I probably should have put on a lens hood, because the sun was just around the corner.
Spotted on Aug 11, 2013
Submitted on Aug 17, 2013
7 Comments
Thank you!
interesting!
Thanks! I'd love to see yours!
Wow Jack; nice pic! I actually got a pic of one of these too that I haven't posted. Yours is much better though.
She wouldn't really kick him, but it was more like hitting the web next to him.
Thank you! I'm not sure if they actually ended up mating or not, because every time he would climb up to her, she would kick him back down. It was quite funny!
Nice one, Jack! How did I miss this spotting??