#tangle-web spiders

[uncharismatic-fauna]

No Tears for the Southern Black Widow

Latrodectus mactans, more commonly known as the southern black widow, is the most common species in the black widow family. While it can be found throughout North America, they are found most often in the southern United States. Within this wide range, L. mactans enjoys a variety of habitats. They prefer areas that are close to the ground, dark, and sheltered; in the wild this may mean dense brush or under logs, while in inhabited areas they may be found in basements, log piles, or under trash lids.

In addition to being the most common black widow, L. mactans is also the largest member of the family Theridiidae. The females are larger than the males, averaging at about 8-10 mm (0.31- 0.39 in) in length and weighing about 1 g (0.04 oz); however the male's legs are generally longer than the females. Both males and females are black, with small thoraxes and extremely large, round abdomens. The female can be distinguished by the iconic red hour-glass shape on the underside of her abdomen, while the male has 4 pairs of red and white stripes on each side of his abdomen.

The southern black widow is mainly solitary, spending most of its time in or near its web. Only the females live long enough to build a web for catching prey, and are the sole source of black widow bites. While bites do require medical attention, no human fatalities have been reported since 1983.

During the day, females hang in the center of the web to expose the bright red warning on their abdomen; when startled they drop to the ground and play dead. Though the webs they construct are haphazard-- the stereotype of cobwebs-- they are extremely strong and are capable of catching woodlice, millipedes, centipedes, other spiders, and occasionally small mice. Once an animal becomes trapped in L. mactan's web, the spider envenoms its prey and wraps it in a thick cocoon. After the animal dies the spider injects it with digestive enzymes and consumes the resulting fluid. Despite their strong venom, the southern black widow can be victim to several predaotrs; namely wasps, the brown widow spider, praying mantises, and large centipedes.

The southern black widow mates primarily in the spring and summer. Mature males build small webs and deposit semen along the threads. He then coats his mouthpieces-- palps-- with sperm and sets out to find a female mate. To court her, he vibrates the threads of her web until she is receptive. On rare occasions, a displeased female may eat the male. Afterwards, if he survives, the male leaves the females web and dies soon afterwards. From just one encounter, the female can store enough sperm to last her a lifetime of reproductive cycles.

After fertilization, the female builds a small web where she lays her egg sac, which can contain up to 400 eggs. She guards these eggs until they hatch about 20 days later, and immedietly disperse to establish their own territories. Until they become fully mature, at about 90 days old, juveniles have no venom and are extremely vulnerable to predators- including adult black widows. Typically only about 30 individuals from a single clutch survive to adulthood. Once mature, males can live for only one year, while females can live up to three years in the wild.

Conservation status: The IUCN has not evaluated the southern black widow, but due to its large range and population size it is considered stable. It is able to adapt to most habitats, and thus the species' only threat comes from extermination via pest control.

If you send me proof that you’ve made a donation to UNRWA or another organization benefiting Palestinians, I’ll make art of any animal of your choosing.

Photos

Mark Kostich

James L. Castner

Meghan F. Murphy

[vertigoartgore]

2002's Spider-Man's Tangled Web Vol.1 #12 cover by artist Duncan Fegredo. The first Spider-Man issue written by ASM writer Zeb Wells.

[emocheremuha]

dig me right into the hole

if I die here, I won't feel anymore

and my words get all choked up in my mouth

in a tunnel

I'll swell up, filled with doubt

[my twitter]

[69slaysoulsister69]

I wish I could see deadpool and wolverine but I read a 250k spideypool fanfic a few months ago that was so good it emotionally destroyed me and seeing wade wilson represented in any other way than he is in that fic would be wrong so unfortunately it’s not in the cards for me

[mokkkki]

i left the cinema of deadpool and wolverine to immediately write a spideypool one shot, this household does not condone cheating 💖

[museincarnate]

The Tangled Web

(A Spider-Man original storyline, featuring @dragvnsovl)

ACT I

Earth-1048: Chinatown District, New York - Near F.E.A.S.T...

Perched upon a rooftop near the F.E.A.S.T shelter, the younger Spider-Man of this New York had managed to distance himself from the crowd on the sidewalk below; their chatter somewhat confusing and bewildering Miles Morales, as what was being said... Just didn't quite add up. Moreover, what it all could mean for himself, and his mentor elsewhere was a perfectly justifiable reason to call said mentor and tutor, even if he was part of something bigger now, and entrusted Miles to take care of the city in his stead... Right? Totally!

"Yo, Pete! I know you're like... Super busy and all, but... U-Uh... I'm hearin' some pretty freaky stuff near F.E.A.S.T, and it might be more than a Spider-Man problem..."

Knowing that Peter wasn't too busy to at least answer a phone call, especially since he said it was still okay to call him for advice once in awhile, whenever Miles got that part of things out of the way, he'd tell the OG Spider-Man what was going on.

Earth-928: Nueva York - Spider Society HQ

Taking a quick breather from helping out Miguel with keeping things under control, so that the future Spider-Man of 2099 could take it just a bit easier since they began their shared endeavor, Peter Parker of Earth-1048 felt his phone buzzing; bringing the screen into view, to see who exactly was trying to contact him. Once he saw that it was his successor and fellow Webhead, Miles, the red and blue clad Webslinger would swipe to answer the incoming call; a jovial tone initially put in his words, to greet his pupil.

"Hey, Miles! What's-" Right off the bat, Miles's tone and rush into why he called had the Queens-born Wall Crawler silencing himself; furrowing his brow as he listened to what the other had to say. 'More than a Spider-Man problem', he'd thought to himself, before the undisclosed details seemed to leave Peter speechless for a moment or two, before he snapped out of his disbelief. "Y-Yeah, Miles! I'll be on my way there in just a sec. Stay calm, and tell MJ to get a hold of Gloria. Maybe we can figure out when this all started. See you soon." Somber in tone, a near-vacant stare and slack jaw were parts of the face Peter now wore, as he ended the quick phone call with the Harlem-born Spider-Man; putting his breather to an end rather early, and turning back around to find Miguel... Urgently.

Once he did so...

"Miguel... Something's going on back home, that Miles just called me about. I know that I promised that he could handle things, and that we'd handle this stuff together, and I'd be right here to take some of the weight off your shoulders but..." A fist clenched, as his breathing became a touch more frantic; unease, heartache and confusion, above all else, laid heavy in his inflection. "Something's wrong, and I need to get to the bottom of it. I'll be back as soon as I can... Promise."

He would only wait long enough to hear what Miguel had to say over the matter, even if it was reprimanding or comforting; Peter's mind being made up from the moment he got further details from Miles Morales, just moments ago. Whenever Miguel would finish speaking, it was likely that Peter wouldn't have anything else to say; probably, then, turning away to use his wrist gadget to open one of those portals to his home: Earth-1048. Still, it would take him a few moments to configure the contraption, since he was in a hurried and stressed state of mind.

[swordmaid]

🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

[motoroil-recs]

[X / X / X] [X / 🏎️ / X] [X / X / X]

A stimboard for Spider-Man [Marvel's Spider-Man 2] with imagery of spiders, webs, and body stims.

[arcticarthropod]

Lyric cobweaver I think

[kandicon]

Avatar of the Web who keeps getting mistaken for an avatar of the Stranger because nobody cares to understand the nuance between marionettes and mannequins.

[onigiram]

TAGS. i didn't like the other ones asjbfjbsdjgb

[the-tangle-web]

Still no real luck in finding exactly where Gabe is- or any of the other boys for that matter. We overheard one of them escaped! And that’s good news! But… I don’t think it’s appropriate to bombard her with questions at this moment.

I just hope they’re doing alright. We’ve not left the sewers ever since Gabe told us not to. And Splinter doesn’t take it lightly. We’re still not allowed to leave until we get an all clear! And Leon is REALLY getting bored and when he gets bored- he goes into my lab and touches things. And I want him to NOT touch my things. So the situation is becoming dire.

Any ideas? Literally anything to help in this overall situation would be splendid.

[thatchaotictiefling]

Part 2 of Violet Mizzrym stimboards!

more DND OC stims <3 (a more backstory, dark / lolth / body stims focused board)

xxx.x-x.xxx

#1 / #2

[mokkkki]

the tangled web we weave, my spideypool fanfic and possibly the best thing i've posted to ao3, has gotten 70k hits and i literally could not be happier about it, so i've made it a playlist of all the songs mentioned in-fic and what i think matches its vibe <3

[artapir]

Stealthed cyberspider, perhaps a "chase car" for the racing spiders, or a vector of rival corporate espionage, or a self-destructing agent deployed to eliminate incriminating evidence of such illegal unsanctioned incursions into a protected extrasolar ecological theatre...?

Midjourney 6

[pleafyistired]

why is c!fluffy always in my head like girl,,, (gender neutral) why you so strings,,,,,