Widows

Widows have always been my favorite spiders. I enjoy keeping several North American species, such as the southern, L. mactans pictured above. Widow spiders are all in the genus Latrodectus and all possess a varying degree of neurotoxic venom. While the venom of this spider has been somewhat exaggerated over the years, still caution must be used around them. Another common misconception is that the female always kills and consumes her mate. While this doubtlessly happens on occasion, it is certainly the exception to the rule. Cannibalism happens in more spider species than this, and so should we call all of them widows? Of course not.... Widows are also called comb-footed spiders. This is due to the stiff hairs at the tips of the fourth pair of legs, used to cast their strong silk around their prey items.

The picture below shows a female southern widow with her eggsac. The eggsacs in most widows are round or pear-shaped, and have a paper-like texture. The exception to this would be the brown widow, L. geometricus, pictured under the below image. Their eggsacs are covered in spiny-like rods.































Brown widows occur in most tropical areas of the world, and have become established in the United States along the Gulf Coast, from south Texas to Florida. Louisiana, Mississippi & Alabama are recent additions to the brown widow's range. They are much more tolerant of human activities, and are often found near dwellings, at gas stations or in front of stores. Brown widows can be fairly variable in color as well. Note the shade of brown in the above individual, and compare it to the individual below. Both were collected in front of the same strip mall in Lafayette, LA.