#Latrodectus

[onenicebugperday]

Phinda button spider, Latrodectus umbukwane, Theridiidae

This widow spider was confirmed as a new species in 2019 and so far is found only in South Africa’s Phinda reserve. It is believed to be the largest member of the widow genus.

Photographed in South African by hrodulf

[vyva-melinkolya]

female and male Western Black Window (Latrodectus hesperus), Northern California

[herpsandbirds]

Your black widow ID made me realize that was the exact spider that crawled out of my drain while I was doing dishes.

DRAIN SPIDER!!!

In my family, I'm the one who removes spiders from the house (alive).

Here's a really gorgeous Black Widow for you...

South American Black Widow (Latrodectus curacaviensis), family Theridiidae, found in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean and South America

photograph by Renato Brito

photograph by Robin James

[apsciencebydan]

When in Central Florida... ❤️

None other than the endemic Latrodectus bishopi, the Red Widow, tending the next generation of gorgeous leggy creatures.

[jenfoundabug]

Western black widow, Latrodectus hesperus Northern California, US

[drhoz]

Redback spiders have established populations in Central Otago and Taranaki, posing a threat to human health and taonga native species such as the critically endangered Cromwell chafer beetle. We talk to Chemist Dr Andrew Twidle, who is leading the development of a pheromone tool to eradicate these invasive redback spiders, the first attempt in the world to control pest spiders using pheromones. The project is supported by Lincoln University, local iwi, and the Department of Conservation. Find more of our biosecurity, disease, and insect science Scigest podcasts on our website: https://www.plantandfood.com/en-nz/bi.... To view our full catalogue of podcasts including extra links on some podcasts please go to our Scigest pages: https://www.plantandfood.com/scigest.

[humanbyweight]

You'll never guess my current hyperfixation.

Totally unrelated but did you know that Theridiid taxonomy is a mess? Special shout-out to Levi (1959) for arbitrarily lumping all 40+ known Latrodectus taxa into just 6 species based on hand-waved genital morphology. I'm sure this is fine

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Black widow spider

A female black widow spider (Latrodectus) hangs upside-down in her web, showing the red hourglass marking on her abdomen.

(Image credit: Kimberly Hosey/Getty Images)

[nomorethanreason-ao3]

OH one last thing for now - wanna read some fucked up cannibal sex? Cause I've got some fucked up cannibal sex for you

Fresh off the presses, come get yours right now!

[the-adoptable-marketplace]

Anthro Black Widow Spider adop-CLOSED

-This adopt has been sold-!

[falling6in6the6black]

[onenicebugperday]

No IDs necessary on any of these, just wanted to share some old highlights I found while going through my camera roll. -The massive darkling beetle I only found because my mom tripped over its hiding spot

-Itty bitty jumping spider that decided to come hang out on my leg

-Very proud of #3, which might be the first Yellow-Shielded Quicksilver found in Montana

-My first black widow! A lovely handsome young man.

-Very large shield bug, Brochymena sp.

-Massive cluster of Western Tent caterpillars, hanging out in their nest. Native, fortunately!

-Goldenrod crab! I swear I saw more of them in the last year than I have in my entire life, they’re huge and beautiful and I love them.

Really great group of pals here! All excellent photos but I especially love the one of the widow :)

[werewolfmack]

Really gorgeous widow I found moving my plants from the old porch to the new porch. I knew they were pretty webby, so I wasn't super surprised to feel my fingers brush something soft and spidering when I grabbed the edge of the plant pot. I don't know what species this is, but she is some type of Latrodectus... I saw a tiny tiny baby as well (in their classic pinstripes!) but I didn't get a pic of them.

[herpsandbirds]

Hi! I do I found this little guy while I was out and I was curious about him (this was in northern NV)

Sorry it’s not the best photo :]

Mystery Spider in NV

The best I can tell from the photo is that it's a black widow, probably Western Black Widow (Latrodectus hesperus), family Theridiidae, but the taxonomy for black widows is kind of in flux right now, so even with a clear photoof the underside I probably couldn't give you an answer down to species.

@onenicebugperday what do you think?

[apsciencebydan]

Mr Latrodectus mactans (yep, black widow...er) understands presentation 🖤

[jenfoundabug]

I rescued this beautiful lady from the pool the other day and put her near where I let the male go. May she live long and prosper.

Western black widows (Latrodectus hesperus) are fairly docile if you handle them properly and with respect (ie not with your hands). They don't want to bite you and would rather flee and hide.