5 Types of Widow Spiders in the United States
So far about 35 species of Widow Spiders has been found worldwide with reports of 5 species in the United States.
The Widow Spider gets its name from the belief that the female eats the male after mating.
This rarely happens.
The female widow spider will survive 1-3 years.
The widows venom is a neurotoxin (deadens the nerves) and is normally not aggressive unless guarding her eggs.
There is an antitoxin for her venom.
The bites are rarely fatal if treated.
Most deaths reported are small children and elderly people.
The bite normally is not felt; however the pain can be almost immediate reaching a maximum pain threshold within 1-3 hours with a possibility of intense burning sensation and continues for a day or two before subsiding.
Symptoms may include difficulty in breathing, fever, increased blood pressure, severe stomach cramps, sweating, and nausea.
Immediately call your doctor or go to an emergency room and bring the spider if possible.
As far as being poisonous only the female should be a concern.
The males will have a smaller venom sac and it is not functional after the male reaches maturity.
The spiderlings are only poisonous if ingested up to 18 days old on average then they lose their toxicity and the adults have different venom.
Types of Widow Spiders
The webs will usually be in sheltered places as she tends to avoid light meaning they do most of their work at night.
The Black Widow is the most common spider.
She has long slim legs, round shiny black abdomen with a red hourglass-shaped marking on her underside.
She averages 8-10mm in length.
She will rarely leave her web.
The males are smaller averaging 4mm in length.
The legs are longer than the females and are orange and brown at the joints with red and white stripes on his abdomen making him very colorful.
The male widow will look very different than the female widow.
Inspection: You should look for webbings, egg sacs, cast skins (shed their skin), and the actual spider.
Look in undisturbed and protected habitats.
They can also be transported inside boxes and furniture.
The webs are usually about a foot in diameter.
Inside: They like to be in areas that are very used like garages, basements, and they prefer cluttered areas as do their prey that are primarily insects Outside: Look in protected areas such as; wood piles, under stones, under decking, holes in the ground,, trees and hollow stumps, and sometimes low branches of trees and shrubs.
Their favorite places are dry areas that are man-made such as; barns, sheds, utility boxes, buckets and barrels, brick veneer, and outhouses.
The Widow Spider gets its name from the belief that the female eats the male after mating.
This rarely happens.
The female widow spider will survive 1-3 years.
The widows venom is a neurotoxin (deadens the nerves) and is normally not aggressive unless guarding her eggs.
There is an antitoxin for her venom.
The bites are rarely fatal if treated.
Most deaths reported are small children and elderly people.
The bite normally is not felt; however the pain can be almost immediate reaching a maximum pain threshold within 1-3 hours with a possibility of intense burning sensation and continues for a day or two before subsiding.
Symptoms may include difficulty in breathing, fever, increased blood pressure, severe stomach cramps, sweating, and nausea.
Immediately call your doctor or go to an emergency room and bring the spider if possible.
As far as being poisonous only the female should be a concern.
The males will have a smaller venom sac and it is not functional after the male reaches maturity.
The spiderlings are only poisonous if ingested up to 18 days old on average then they lose their toxicity and the adults have different venom.
Types of Widow Spiders
- Red Widows; located in central and southern Florida
- Brown Widow; located in South Eastern United States
- Western Widow; located in Western United States and Canada
- Northern Widow; located in Northern United States and Canada
- Black Widow; located along the east coast from Massachusetts to Florida, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, but more common in South Eastern states
The webs will usually be in sheltered places as she tends to avoid light meaning they do most of their work at night.
The Black Widow is the most common spider.
She has long slim legs, round shiny black abdomen with a red hourglass-shaped marking on her underside.
She averages 8-10mm in length.
She will rarely leave her web.
The males are smaller averaging 4mm in length.
The legs are longer than the females and are orange and brown at the joints with red and white stripes on his abdomen making him very colorful.
The male widow will look very different than the female widow.
Inspection: You should look for webbings, egg sacs, cast skins (shed their skin), and the actual spider.
Look in undisturbed and protected habitats.
They can also be transported inside boxes and furniture.
The webs are usually about a foot in diameter.
Inside: They like to be in areas that are very used like garages, basements, and they prefer cluttered areas as do their prey that are primarily insects Outside: Look in protected areas such as; wood piles, under stones, under decking, holes in the ground,, trees and hollow stumps, and sometimes low branches of trees and shrubs.
Their favorite places are dry areas that are man-made such as; barns, sheds, utility boxes, buckets and barrels, brick veneer, and outhouses.
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