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Latrodectus hesperus
Latrodectus hesperus, the Western black widow spider or Western widow, is a venomous spider species found in western regions of North America. The female's body is 14–16 millimeters in length and is black, often with an hourglass shaped red mark on the lower abdomen. This "hourglass" mark can be yellow, and on rare occasions, white. The male of the species is around half this size and generally a tan color with lighter striping on the abdomen. The population was previously described as a subspecies of Latrodectus mactans and it is closely related to the northern species Latrodectus variolus. The species, as with others of the genus, build irregular webs. Wikipedia
Suburban house compost bin.
Spotted on Apr 7, 2012
Submitted on Apr 8, 2012
12 Comments
wow james.hawkins77, that was an interesting coincidence.
Well, I had to go and make a comment this morning and then found one outside this afternoon. Still freaked out by this spider:)
Yes, snapped a few shots and left it in peace.
I wouldn't be particularly pleased to find one in the house but I think you are perfectly safe here unless you try & pick one up. In my experience these little guys usually want to get away from the big bad human as fast as they can rather than attacking!
Thank James. This is only the 2nd time I have seen a black widow. The first time definitely freaked me out, but now that I joined PN, I am more interested in getting the photo!
Very nice photo. These guys freak me out.
Thanks for the info Karen!
misako, the males can be, & often are black! Here is a juvi BW, definitely a male! http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/994...
Emma: It looks like this is a female--the male is smaller and tan in color. I think I also saw the male spider, but did not realize they were the same species.
Thank you for the ID LivanEscudero!
Male black widow.
Please be carefull, I think this is a Western Black Widow (Latrodectus hesperus) if it is (as per bugguide): "Caution: Anyone bitten by a western black widow spider should receive prompt and proper medical treatment. While the black widow is considered the most venomous spider in North America, death from a black widow spider bite is highly unlikely."
You can read more aboout them here:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/26346