The Black Widow Spider
Introduction
Throughout the world, there exists only a handful of spiders capable of inflicting serious harm to humans. One of these spiders is the infamous Black Widow. Well-known for its dark coloration and potent venom, the Black Widow Spider is a remarkable species of arachnid with the ability to inflict life-threatening injuries to its unlucky victims. This article explores the Black Widow in-depth, providing its readers with an analysis of the spider’s behavioral patterns, venom toxicity, and general characteristics. It is this author’s hope that a deeper understanding (and appreciation) of this fascinating creature will accompany readers following their completion of this work.
Scientific Classification
- Common Name: Black Widow Spider
- Binomial Name: Latrodectus
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Subphylum: Chelicerata
- Class: Arachnida
- Order: Araneae
- Infraorder: Araneomorphae
- Family: Theridiidae
- Genus: Latrodectus
- Species: 32 different species (described)
Black Widow Spider Characteristics
The Latrodectus, or Black Widow Spider, is a species of highly venomous spider from the Theridiidae family. In total, approximately 32 different species of Black Widow are believed to exist, worldwide, including the Southern and Western Black Widow varieties. Occasionally referred to as the “Button Spider,” Black Widows are relatively small in size (0.12 to 0.39 inches) with females often growing larger than their male counterparts (reaching sizes of approximately 0.51 inches in rare cases).
Taxonomy
The Black Widow was first described in 1805 by Charles Athanase Walkenaer, with significant revisions being made to the specie’s profile in 1959 by Herbert Walter Levi. Levi chose to revise the spider’s profile due to the large number of anatomical variations he discovered in specimens from around the world. As a result of his efforts, scientists now recognize 32 different species of the Black Widow that can be found on every continent (with the exception of Antarctica).
Coloration
As their name implies, the Black Widow is traditionally black (or occasionally dark brown) in coloration, and possesses a reddish-orange hourglass that typically appears on its ventral region. While this marking is one of the most recognizable characteristics of the Black Widow, not all Black Widows possess this distinguishing hourglass (for reasons unknown). On rare occasions, a pair of red spots can occasionally take the place of the hourglass design as well.
Male and female Black Widows can also be distinguished from one another due to markings on the male’s dorsal (upper abdomen). These marks, which vary between red or white, often appear in the form of a single stripe, or a series of bars and spots. Likewise, females can often be identified due to their larger size, paler coloration (brownish-black), and because of the overall absence of markings.