Southern black widow

Latrodectus mactans · The southern black widow is a venomous spider, native to North America and found mainly in the southeastern United States.

Also called Shoe-button spider, Black widow spider.

Southern black widow
Photo: Shenrich91, CC BY-SA 3.0
Southern black widow
Photo: James Gathany, Public domain
Southern black widow
Photo: Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumArthropoda
ClassArachnida
OrderAraneae
FamilyTheridiidae
GenusLatrodectus
SpeciesLatrodectus mactans

Where it lives

Woodpiles, sheds and brush from Florida north to New York and west to Texas.

Fun facts

  • A female black widow can make four to nine egg sacs in a single summer, each holding about 100 to 400 eggs.
  • Only about thirty baby spiders on average survive the first molt; many of the rest perish from cannibalism, lack of food or shelter.
  • Females can live for up to three years, while males live only about three to four months.
  • When prey gets tangled in the web, the spider rushes out, wraps it tightly in silk, then bites it, and the venom takes about ten minutes to work.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).