The black widow spider is a venomous predator. Poisonous spider - black widow: description with photos and videos, what it looks like, where it lives, interesting facts

And remember: in order not to meet face to face with such an unpleasant "lady" as a black widow, you just need to follow some rules:

• if there is a possibility of meeting a spider or you are in its habitat, then you need to dress in such a way as not to leave a single open area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe body;
• in the case of outdoor recreation, make sure that the place of rest and overnight stay is not in the zone of various soil depressions, rodent burrows and cobwebs on plants;
• after walking in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe likely habitat of spiders, carefully check your clothes so as not to bring a poisonous guest into the house in the folds of fabric;
• if you meet a spider on your way, then in no case do not touch it and its cocoons.

• At the moment, black widow spiders continue to live in the Rostov region in the amount of about 2,000 individuals, and over the past years there have even been 2 cases of their attacks on people.
• If the black widow feels even the slightest danger, then she immediately falls out of the web and pretends to be dead. The female of this spider feels very insecure and clumsy outside the familiar environment.
• During the attack on the victim, the black widow inflicts a wound on her with chelicerae, and then sprinkles digestive enzymes into her. After some time, the body of the victim liquefies, and the spider drinks it like a nutritious cocktail.
• Previously, the black widow was considered the most poisonous spider on the planet, but recently it was removed from the pedestal.

Know that a black widow will never attack unnecessarily, so treat her with respect and limit yourself to observation, because even spiders can learn something.

The black widow spider or Latrodectus mactans is distributed throughout the continents. the globe. Homeland is North America. Over time, the arthropod appeared, Oceania. Separate varieties are found in Africa, Asia, Europe. In total, there are 31 species of black widows, the bites of some of them end in the death of animals, humans.

What does a black widow look like

The main feature of the spider are moderately long legs with bristles. With their help, the black widow skillfully throws a web on prey. Spider webs often contain insects, beetles, caterpillars, as well as amphibians and rodents.

On a note!

The color of the abdomen of each species may vary, but the legs are always black. A true black widow has a shiny glossy black body, long powerful legs. A distinctive feature of the spider is the presence of a pattern on the lower part of the abdomen in the form of a red hourglass. Males do not have such identification marks.

The body of an adult female reaches a size of 2 cm, legs - 5 cm. Males are always smaller. There are 6-8 eyes on the head, but the spider sees weakly. The organs of touch help to navigate in space. The predator feels the approach of the prey by the vibrations of the air, the web.

Photo and description of other species:

• False black widow. It lives on all continents, differs from its relative in the color of its characteristic pattern. Instead of red hourglasses, they are pink. The spider leads a similar lifestyle, but is better adapted to the harsh climatic conditions. There is a spider, other CIS countries. The poison is less toxic, but not enough to classify the arthropod as a harmless creature.
• Red widow. It lives in several places in Florida. The size, shape of the body does not differ. The color of the chest, legs - red, orange. The belly is black with yellow rings around. Lives in the wild under the leaves of the sand pine. does not pose a great danger to humans. But there is local irritation, pain, swelling.
• Brown widow. Widespread in America. It has a brighter color - orange, brown, red. On the underside of the abdomen, the pattern in the form of an hourglass is bright yellow, orange. The spider tries to stay away from people, their housing, lives in wild nature. It bites in order to protect its own life. The bite is the weakest of all widow species, but is valued in medicine.
• White widow. Refers to . Found in Russia. Included in the list. Differs in light color - white, yellow. Hunts for insects, caterpillars, beetles. Poison does not represent mortal danger for a person, but leads to a temporary deterioration in well-being, provoking weakness, headache, nausea, pain at the sites of attack.

A photo of a black widow spider can be seen below. There are also cubs at different stages of development, which differ from adults in size, lighter color.

origin of name

The black spider with a red hourglass on its abdomen is well known throughout the world, not only because of its extremely toxic venom, but also because of its particular way of life. Male and female meet only for mating mating season. It is important for the “boyfriend” to calculate in advance the mood of his “passion”. A hungry female will eat a partner before he starts his mating games. If the spider is waiting for the male, he calmly approaches her, does his job.

The fate of the "man" directly depends on his physical condition, as well as on how full the female is. If the widow suddenly gets hungry, she will eat the "boyfriend" in an instant. The same thing happens with a weakened spider that has mated with several spiders. A strong male can safely crawl away, and then reappear for another mating.

The second name is black death, the arthropod received due to strong poison. A toxic substance is injected by a widow when bitten. Spider venom kills a horse in a few minutes, in the absence of timely qualified assistance, a person dies in half an hour.

On a note!

The Latin name for the black widow, Latrodectus, comes from the Greek, literally meaning "biting in secret." The spider hides in a secluded place, waiting for the victim. Attacks a person for the purpose of self-defense. Inconspicuous black color helps to mask in the dark, when the animals are most active.

Where does the spider live

Varieties of black widows are present on all continents. live in tropical countries. According to official data, 13 species live on the American continents, African, Eurasian - 8 each. In Oceania, Australia, 3 species are found. One is found on all continents of the globe with the exception of Eurasia - Latrodectus geometricus.

In the wild, spiders live among vegetation, under stones, in hollows of trees, and in the soil. Once in the house, they hide in the corners, behind furniture, in shoes, lockers, in any place where there is no direct sunlight. Habitat in Russia - the south of the country, forests, forest-steppes.

On a note!

Often a black widow is turned on as pet. She does not attack by herself, but attacks in self-defense. They keep her in a special terrarium. Lives in captivity for about 4 years, in nature - 12 months.

Lifestyle

Spiders live alone. They come together in pairs only for mating. After fertilization, the female lays up to 900 eggs at a time. Wraps them in cobwebs, forms a cocoon, drags them along. For 4 weeks, spiders are formed inside, which are also cannibals. In the cocoon they feed on each other, the strongest are born. A maximum of 10 cubs remain alive. For some time, the younger generation clings to their mother, then spreads out in different directions.

The black widow feeds mainly on insects, beetles, larvae, weaker spiders. Often snakes, snakes, frogs, lizards, rodents come across in the web. The predator paralyzes them with poison, injects saliva that liquefies the insides, then calmly drinks.

On a note!

Black widow-like spiders lead a similar lifestyle, but differ in less toxic venom. The most similar are karakurts. Many species are found on the territory of Russia. They are often called false widows.

Poison Danger

The bite of a black widow spider is 15 times more toxic than poison rattlesnake. The world dies every year from attacks more people than from sharks, snakes. According to the frequency of bites, the black widow is in first place.

Death can occur in cases of weakened or pathologically weak immunity. The consequences are more serious in young children, the elderly, and the sick. Manifestations begin a few minutes after the bite. The complexity of the situation depends on the amount of poison that has entered the bloodstream. When providing timely medical care the person is recovering well.

The poison spreads throughout the body, strikes nervous system. Causes severe muscle spasms. As a result, the following symptoms appear:

• increased salivation;
• lacrimation;
• dizziness;
• headache;
• nausea;
• vomit;
• abdominal pain;
• tachycardia;
• vomit;
• urinary incontinence;
• diarrhea;
• pallor of integument;
• dyspnea;
• muscle spasms;
• increased blood pressure;
• anxiety;
• weakness.

At the site of the bite there is pain, swelling, redness. Over time, suppuration appears. The very moment of the attack feels like a prick with a needle. The most dangerous female in the war period, at the time of bearing cubs. Males are less poisonous, not as active.

View: Spider Black Widow (Latrodectus)
Family: Web spiders
Squad: Spiders
Class: arachnids
Type: arthropods
Subtype: Cheliceric
Size: approximately 38 mm long (feet 12 mm), 6.4 mm in diameter
Weight: 1 gram
Lifespan: 1 - 3 years

The Black Widow got its name because the female often kills and eats the male, which explains his short lifespan. Scientists suggest that this is how females get a ready source of protein that will be useful for offspring. However, this is mostly seen in laboratory settings where the male is unable to escape.

Black Widow has earned a bad reputation unfairly. She only eats her husband when she takes him for food! Despite the fierce-sounding name, these are non-aggressive creatures, even shy ones. They rarely bite people. We are a much greater threat to them than they are to us. They have a completely romantic ritual: the male dances an amazing mating dance so that the female understands that he is not food.

Habitat

This type of spider is distributed throughout the world. They live in regions with temperate climate, incl. in USA, South Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and most of South America. Can be found in dark, dry hiding places, dimly lit areas such as sheds, garages, basements, closets, hollow tree stumps, rodent burrows, dense vineyard vegetation. They tend to take shelter in warm dwellings in winter.

Although the black widow spider was not previously known in Russia, in last years they were found on Southern Urals and in the Rostov region. Migration is explained by an increase in air temperature.

Characteristic

Like all spiders, the black widow has 8 legs. Male and female individuals are different. Females are twice as large, with shiny black organs and a red hourglass-shaped marking on the underside of their round abdomen. The marking may also be orange-yellow. Males are paler, with red or pink dorsal patches. Females are about 40 mm long with outstretched legs, their black, spherical bellies are about 9-13 mm.

• The eggs are placed in greyish, silky balls 12 to 15 mm in diameter. Clutches contain 200 to 900 eggs and are webbed.
• Spiderlings are completely white at first. Then they become like adult spiders, although smaller size. Photos of black widow spiders are easy to find in the literature, on the Internet.

• The black widow spider, the photo speaks of their danger, still have enemies. Wasps can sting and paralyze them, and it is also a favorite food for praying mantises. Some birds eat them, but may end up getting stomach upset from the poison. The bright red belly markings warn would-be predators that the spider is a nasty food.
• Black widows are lonely in nature. They communicate only during mating. They can sometimes be seen hanging upside down in a net, identified by the hourglass on their abdomen.
• The black widow contributes to the balance of the ecosystem by consuming insects: mosquitoes and flies. It also controls crop pests by feeding on insect pests that destroy plants: locusts, grasshoppers, beetles and caterpillars.

Interesting! There are 31 species of Black Widow, including: Latrodectus hersperus (western black widow), Latrodectus mactans (southern black widow), and Latrodectus variolus (northern black widow). There are also red widows and brown widows.

Black widow bite

The black widow spider, whose bite is dangerous, and the poison is 15 times stronger than that of a rattlesnake, fortunately rarely attacks people. Only when a person violates his peace. Only the bites of females can be considered a threat to human health. And, contrary to popular belief, most victims do not suffer serious harm. Bites from this spider rarely result in death. Risk group - children, the elderly, the sick.

After a pinprick bite, the pain spreads throughout the body within a few minutes. The effects of a bite from a member of this genus vary by species, but symptoms may include nausea, profuse sweating, severe pain in the abdomen and back, muscle pain, hypertension, shortness of breath. The pain lasts for 8-12 hours, and the symptoms are felt for several days. It is advisable to use an antidote. Animals are more likely to be bitten by a male.

Nutrition

Like many spiders, the black widow eats other arachnids and insects that get caught in its webs. The female hangs upside down and waits for her prey. This posture displays bright markings that are a warning to would-be predators that it is toxic. The markings, however, do not scare the prey.

The spider eats flies, mosquitoes, midges, beetles and caterpillars. Once the prey is caught in the net, the black widow uses her combed legs to wrap the prey in silk. It then pierces its prey with fangs and injects digestive enzymes that liquefy the corpse. And sucks out liquid.

Interesting! Like most spiders, the black widow is able to live for a long time without food. Specimens are known that have survived for almost a year in the absence of prey.

Life cycle

Eggs

A grayish silk ball of eggs with a funnel-shaped exit is attached to the web. Each female builds 5 to 15 of these balls, 12-15 mm in diameter, each containing 200 to 900 eggs. These clutches are fiercely guarded by the mother until spiders emerge from them.

Spiders (babies)

Young spiders leave the ball after 10-30 days. Only a handful of them will survive, as black widows are cannibals on early stages their lives. They consume other spiders from their brood for food.

Surviving spiderlings undergo molting. At first they are white, then orange, and only after a couple of months they resemble adult male black widows. Surviving individuals leave the network. It will take 2-3 months for them to mature, begin to weave their linens and get food.

Interesting! Although the life expectancy of black widow spiders is one year, some female specimens live up to three years. Males are usually only 1-2 months old. These spiders live longer in captivity.

Some originals have all sorts of exotics at home and even try to breed them. Spiders were also among the favorites. In principle, it is not difficult to keep and feed them, there is a lot of information on the Internet, but getting offspring is already a problem.

As for the black widow, one of the most dangerous spiders in the world, experts categorically do not recommend keeping it at home and breeding it to non-professionals.

Chasing the exotic, you forget about the elementary instinct of self-preservation. The result can be deplorable, because despite the shyness, 5% of the attacks of such a pet end fatally.

Signs of presence

If suddenly at home or in the country you find the web of a black widow or the spider itself, be careful. Indoors, their webs can be vacuumed out. In fields, orchards, and vegetable gardens where these spiders have become a problem, gloves should be worn as a precaution against bites. Spiders can be killed with a pesticide spray.

Black widows produce dirty dense webs. Her canvases are usually found near ground level and under protected ledges, such as under furniture or a wooden porch on stilts. A red hourglass marking will also indicate the presence of this species.

Black Widow! Spiders with this name are known to many for their deadly dangerous bites. But not every individual of the spider is dangerous to humans. The females of the black widow stand out for their aggressiveness. They are dangerous not only for humans, but primarily for males of this species. The size of females is several times larger than males, which are calmer and rarely attack people.

This spider species is native to North America. But the spiders took root on ships and thus ended up in Australia and Oceania, where they climatized and feel good.

The species of black widow spiders should not be confused with the genus of the same name. This different ranks in biological classification. This genus of spiders includes 31 species that live on all continents of the Earth. Not all representatives of this genus are dangerous to humans. In the south of Russia and Ukraine, a representative of the genus lives - the karakurt spider, whose bite is very poisonous and can cause death.

Distinctive features of the appearance of the black widow

The most aggressive is the female spider. A photo of a black widow spider will show the full beauty of the females. She is jet black with a sheen and a red infinity symbol on her belly at a young age. Adults are completely black. The body of the spider does not exceed 1 cm in diameter, while overall size spider females are about 6 cm. There are 4 thin tenacious legs on each side of the body.

Aggression in many cases is not justified, therefore, when meeting with her, it is better not to provoke her, otherwise the bite cannot be avoided. Black widows do not just attack, often they protect their offspring. When meeting with a spider, it is better to simply bypass it. In the event of a bite when poison enters the human body, the victim will need emergency medical care, without which a fatal outcome is not excluded.

Males, unlike females, are more calm and have not become famous for attacks on people. In size, they are several times smaller than females with a grayish-brown body color. On the back of males it has an ornament of horizontal and vertical white stripes.

Small spiders, just born, have a pale yellow or white color. Age-related changes in spiders are marked by a change in color according to gender.

Black Widow Danger

Black widow spider: close-up photo.

For children and people in old age bites almost always result in lethal outcomes regardless of the specialized care. Not even every adult and healthy body can cope with the symptoms after a bite:

• cramps in the limbs;
• fever;
• sweating;
• headache;
• acute pain in the abdominal cavity, often resembling an exacerbation of pancreatitis and peptic ulcer disease;
• failure of breathing;
• arrhythmia leading to heart failure.

All these symptoms appear as the poison spreads throughout the body. Fatal poisoning lasts 15-60 minutes. ultimately leading to death.

The provision of medical care will not give a quick and complete recovery. First aid gives relief of symptoms for several hours with their resumption in full. The gradual introduction of vaccines and medicines allows you to return to normal life after 1-1.5 weeks. Minor health problems observed before a spider bite can worsen and become chronic, and chronic diseases of the nervous and cardiovascular systems may also appear.

Photo of a black widow

Spider black widow with prey.

The black widow spider caught a small lizard.

The black widow spider caught a small snake.

Black widow spider: adult female.

Black widow spider: adult female with prey.

Black Widow Secrets

This type of spider got its name from abuse females with males. They simply eat them after mating, and only a few males manage to avoid the fate of becoming dinner. Females spend most of their time sitting on the web with the growing offspring and waiting for easy prey or a male, although they seem to distinguish prey from males of their own species poorly. So, the females of the black widow are waiting on their web, while the males are moving in search of a lover for mating.

The approach of the male to the web with the female occurs with extreme caution. Primary sniffing the edge of the web and observing the behavior of the hostess of the "lace" makes it clear whether she is ready for mating or not. Readiness to accept a male for mating is marked by the creation by the female of certain vibrations distributed throughout the web.

But the name itself comes from the behavior of a hungry female, which can sharply attack a partner, followed by eating it, without even waiting for mating. Such actions are also observed after fertilization, which caused hunger in the female. We can say that the color of the black widow emphasizes leading role females.

Having eaten, the female begins to weave a cocoon in which she lays her eggs. She hides this cocoon in the shade, for example, under a stone or under a snag, or in a hole. The female is very aggressive in protecting her offspring and many bites are due to humans approaching the cocoon.

Spider black widow with cocoons and cubs.

Spiderlings from eggs usually appear after three weeks. But their mother does not feed them. They eat each other. Thus, only the strongest and most cruel children are selected from the cocoon. In one clutch of such thugs, no more than 12 pieces survive.

With age, the poisonousness of the black widow increases.