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Black Widow

Nanci

Nanci

Alien Lover
When I went to put Isabel's screen on for the day (it's off from when I get home till when I leave for work) I saw she had a little pet living on it! The screen stands on end between her viv and a china cabinet that doesn't get vacuumed under. I knew this was a black widow just by the shape of the body, but flipped her on her back for confirmation. I was just oging out the door to work, or I would have taken more pics. Then I flung her out into the rain instead of killing her. There's more where she came from- why bother.
 

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They're all skinny and scraggley in Florida. I find them in my mail box all the time. Next time I get one- I'll get a ventral shot! The ones in California have the big abdomens- I know what you mean.
 
I actually never saw one with an hourglass until I moved to Oregon. The ones in California that I saw were all big and round and definitely black widows, but no red marking.
 
Cool! I remember during a period of doing agency work, I was in a grape-packing line when the girl in front of me found a very active black widow in the fruit. We had virtually no room to move between the conveyor belts but I did a vertical take-off up and over the line to get away!
 
Yeah, it doesn't look right to me, either, but what else has a red hour glass? I guess it could be a male, but it doesn't have white spots on the back.
 
I would have to move far far away if I saw a black widow in my house. I am a big sissy when it comes to spiders. I nearly got myself in a car accident once when I saw a spider on the door. I jumped halfway into the passenger seat! Not a proud moment.
 
I'll tell you the creepiest thing I saw in my house. (Not counting the giant flying roaches). I lost a DVD and I looked _everywhere_ for it. Finally I tipped over my ancient recliner. I didn't find it there, but there was a huge black beetle glaring at me from part of the mechanism. I just tipped the chair back over and tried not to think about it. But then I found two more in the house over the course of a day or so. That's way weirder than a spider.
 
Oh that was it! My toes are curling! I'd so love to see one, the best we get are 'devil's coachorse', which are just beetles with long abdomens who can make a bit of a smell if disturbed.
 
We do get some pretty creepy bugs down here.
I know we have black widows around my house too but I have yet to see one. Joe has seen them in our back shed and when we had our a/c unit fixed, the guy found one in it too (outside thank god). I have such a phobia of spiders, but I would like to see one in person for my own piece of mind so I know what to look for. I have seen enough pics, but it is different to see a live one.

I have enough trouble though with the giant huntsman spiders we get in the house (or as Joe jokingly refers to them - "the alien facesuckers"!).
 
:) Thats a florida widow for sure. We have them all over the place in our back yard ): scary. Though, we usually find black AND brown widows.
 
The button spiders have round abdomens with slender legs of which the third pair of legs is the shortest. Their colour varies from cream to pitch black between species. The markings on the abdomen also vary from stripes to spots. In adult females the markings become less distinct. The patterns on the ventral side of the abdomen vary from having none to one with a distinct red hourglass pattern. Males are much smaller than females and the markings on their abdomen consist of red or white bands.

There are others apparently. :shrugs:
 
This is a picture of an immature


Immature widows can vary in color and design. They may or may not have an hourglass. If they do, its usually orange and darkens and gets larger as they mature.
 
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