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Latrodectus mactans, known as southern black widow or simply black widow, and the shoe-button spider, [citation needed] is a venomous species of spider in the genus Latrodectus. The females are well known for their distinctive black and red coloring and for the fact that they will occasionally eat their mates after reproduction.
Females of a few species are paler brown and some have no bright markings. The bodies of black widow spiders range from 3–10 mm (0.12–0.39 in) in size; some females can measure 13 mm (0.51 in) in their body length (not including legs). [8] Including legs, female adult black widows generally measure 25–38 mm (1–1.5 in). [9] [10]
Latrodectus tredecimguttatus, also known as the Mediterranean black widow [2] or the European black widow, [3] is a species in the genus Latrodectus of the widow spiders. It is commonly found throughout the Mediterranean region , ranging from southern Iberia to southwest and central Asia, hence the name.
Smith said while the female adult black widow can be an inch or inch and a half including its legs, the male measures at approximately a quarter of an inch. Another distinguishing feature of the ...
The black widow gets its name from a particularly gnarly behavior: Males are often killed and eaten by females shortly after mating. A female can live up to a year or more and produce several egg ...
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 mm (1/2 in) 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.
How to Identify a Black Widow Spider There's probably a specific image that comes to mind when you picture a black widow spider: A large, shiny, black spider with a red hourglass on its belly.
A member of the genus Latrodectus in the family Theridiidae, the redback belongs in a clade with the black widow spider, [10] with the katipō as its closest relative. [18] A 2004 molecular study supports the redback's status as a distinct species, as does the unique abdomen-presenting behaviour of the male during mating. [10]