Venom fifteen times stronger than that of a rattlesnake, able to conceal themselves in all of our common areas. We share our gardens, garages and sheds with that notorious villain of the spider world the "
Black Widow". About the size of large coat button all black with a red "hourglass" on it's underside. The most difficult part is not identifying them, it's trying to see them before reaching into a dark dry spot. They live any where they are able to avoid detection by predators, birds, lizards and some furry little animals. Black widows are solitary spiders with a life span of 1-3 years. There are several species of the spider in the US, the "Southern Widow" found in the southern and northeastern states. "Latrodectus hesperus" (call them Black widows) are native to the western states, the "Brown
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Female Black Widow with an egg sac, over 100 hatchlings in each sac, protected
fiercely by the mother only to be devoured by each other. |
Widow" located in the south and the northern widow found in the northeast. Black widows eat ants, arthropods, caterpillars, grasshoppers, crickets, cockroaches and scorpions plus many others. The black widow males are smaller than the females which are distinguished from the males by orange and brown at the joints. In some species the males are colorful as well, some display red and white stripes on the abdomen, more colorful than many females. Reproducing in the spring time and early summer, the egg sacs are easily recognized appearing as tiny "dust balls" and protected by the female until they hatch. Out of the hundreds of young in the egg sac, few survive, black widows are cannibalistic in the early stages of their lives. The young spiders are white and orange in color and resemble young black widows. Many spiderlings overwinter as immature then fully developing in the spring. Surviving baby spiders will "balloon", they leave the nest after 3 days, make a web and take
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| Spider balloons after landing in their new home. |
to the sky. In the early fall (October in Northern California), the
balloons can be observed floating in the breeze sometimes for many miles landing in their new homes. They build their webs close to the ground under wood piles, low hanging branches, lawn furniture and other places they can stay secluded. Black widows earned their name due to their mating habits, after finding a mate if the female is willing they complete the union. As the story continues after insemination the female will devour the male, it's not entirely true, that behavior has only been observed while the spiders are in captivity. If you are bitten by a black widow immediately tell someone so they know what has happened. The bite rarely will kill someone, however it is important to get medical help as soon as possible. The bite will most likely (yes, I know how that goes) will not kill you it may make you sick enough to wish it would. The first action is to wash with warm water and soap, call the emergency room and tell them you are on your way often they will be ready for a poisoned victim upon arrival. Keep the bitten area elevated above the heart. Very often black widows do not inject venom, if you are bit there is no need to panic no one in the United States has died from black widow spider bite in the past ten years. It hurts after being bitten symptoms include muscle cramps, stomach pains, weakness, nausea, dizziness, chest pain and problems breathing. Read how to treat a bite
here.
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| Gloves hat and overalls, this lady is all set up for spiders. |
In summation: As all creatures in our world black widows play a very valuable addition to our out door existence. They eat tiny insects that defoliate our plants, they devour that universally hated pest the house fly, they eat grasshoppers and lots of mosquito's. It's OK to have a love/hate opinion of the them, but be careful of where you place your hands. That spider web that is head high most likely is not a black widow web, bites on the hand are most common among people who do get bit. It doesn't matter where you are working in the yard or shed, wear gloves and be observant, the little pest can be anywhere.
Thanks for reading, I am going to write my next few blogs on poisonous bugs, scorpions, brown recluse and tarantulas being a few. Leave a comment, suggestion or a life experiences I appreciate it.
jacquesandkate emergencykitsplus.com
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