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Female black widow bite worse than the male's!

Did you know that the female black widow bite is worse than the male's? Yes, 3X stronger!

You can identify the female black widow spider by the red hourglass design embedded on her glossy black abdomen.  Black widow spider venom is rarely fatal and these spiders are shy in nature; they will only bite defending their nest or when they sense that they are in a threatened manner.
interesting black widow facts
Female black widow spider dangling in her irregular looking web

Some more interesting black widow facts:

  • Black widow bites can cause localized pain.  Severe bites cause vomiting, sweating, muscle cramping, and pain, which can last from 3-5 days.
  • Black widow spiders prefer dark and low places such as the garage; their webs are irregular in shape and the female black widow has been known to eat her male suitor after mating.
  • Black widow spiders can be found all across the United States, especially in the southwestern U.S., in such states as Arizona and New Mexico.
  • The black widow's legs has an oily substance that prevents itself from getting stuck in the irregular web.
  • Male black widow spiders are not black like female black widows, but are brown or gray in color with small red spots.
  • The genus for the Black widow spider is Latrodectus.
  • Female black widow spiders are approximately 1.5 inches in length, or 38 millimeters long. Their male counterparts are half this size.
  • Black widow spiders have comblike structures on their hind legs so that they can easily wrap their prey with silk.
  • Black widow spiders liquefy their prey by injecting them with powerful digestive enzymes before sucking up their bodily fluids.
  • Black widow spiders are found in temperate climates around the world, including the United States, southern Europe and Asia, Africa, Australia, and most of the countries in South America.
  • There are 31 species of black widow spiders throughout the world.
  • While male black widow spiders can live for a few months, female black widow spiders can live up to 3 years.
  • The female black widow's egg sac can contain from 200 to 900 baby black widow spiders.
  • The poison of the black widow spider is 15 times stronger than the poison of a rattlesnake.
  • Black widow spiders are considered the most poisonous spider in North America,
  • Black widow spider antivenom is readily available to minimize tissue damage.
  • Many people have described the bite of the female black widow spider to be like a pinprick; however, pain throughout the body happens within a short amount of time.
  • Mating between the male and female black widow spider occurs during late spring.
  • The black widow spider is specifically preyed upon by the mud-dauber wasp.
  • The red hourglass design on the underbelly of the female black widow spider is also known as the opisthosoma.
Personal thoughts/reflections:

I personally have not seen a black widow spider in real life, I have traveled to Tuscon, Arizona years ago and could have easily come across one when walking through the fields; I have a spider phobia and seeing the red hourglass design on the female black widow's abdomen would definitely scare me. I know that these spiders are shy in nature and only bite in self-defense, but the fear would still be present.

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