Where do black widow spiders live? Poisonous spider - black widow: description with photos and videos, what it looks like, where it lives, interesting facts

Black Widow! Spiders with this name are known to many for their deadly bites. But not every spider is dangerous to humans. Female black widows stand out for their aggressiveness. They are dangerous not only for humans, but especially for males of this species. Females are several times larger in size than males, who are calmer and rarely attack people.

This type of spider is native to North America. But the spiders took root on ships and thus found their way to Australia and Oceania, where they became acclimatized and thrive.

The species of black widow spider should not be confused with the genus of the same name. These are different ranks in the biological classification. This genus of spiders includes 31 species that live on all continents of the Earth. Not all representatives of this genus are dangerous to humans. In the south of Russia and Ukraine lives a representative of the genus - the karakurt spider, whose bite is very poisonous and can cause death.

Distinctive features of the black widow's appearance

The female spider is considered the most aggressive. A photo of a black widow spider will show the full beauty of the females. Its color is jet black with a sheen and a red infinity symbol on its belly when young. Adults are completely black. The body of the spider does not exceed 1 cm in diameter, while the total size of the female spider is about 6 cm. There are 4 thin prehensile legs on each side of the body.

Aggression in many cases is not justified, so when meeting it it is better not to provoke it, otherwise a bite cannot be avoided. Black widows do not attack for nothing; they often protect their offspring. When meeting a spider, it is better to simply walk around it. In the event of a bite when poison enters the human body, the victim will require emergency medical care, without which death is not excluded.

Males, unlike females, are calmer and are not famous for attacks on people. They are several times smaller in size than females with a grayish-brown body color. On the back of males there is an ornament of horizontal and vertical white stripes.

Small spiders, just born, have a pale yellow or white color. Age-related changes in spiders are marked by a change in color according to gender.

Danger of the black widow

Black widow spider: close-up photo.

For children and older people, bites almost always lead to death, regardless of the specialized care provided. Not even every adult healthy body able to cope with symptoms after a bite:

• cramps in the limbs;
• fever;
• sweating;
• headache;
• acute pain in the abdominal cavity, often reminiscent of exacerbation of pancreatitis and ulcer disease;
• failure of breathing;
• arrhythmia leading to heart failure.

All these symptoms appear as the poison spreads throughout the body. Fatal poisoning lasts 15-60 minutes. ultimately leading to death.

Rendering medical care will not give a quick and complete recovery. First aid provides relief from symptoms within a few hours with their resumption in full. The gradual introduction of vaccines and medications allows you to return to normal life in 1-1.5 weeks. Minor health problems observed before a spider bite can worsen and become chronic, and chronic diseases of the nervous and cardiovascular systems can also appear.

Photo of a black widow

Black widow spider with prey.

The black widow spider caught a small lizard.

The black widow spider caught a small snake.

Black widow spider: adult female.

Black widow spider: adult female with prey.

Secrets of the black widow

This type of spider got its name due to the cruel treatment of females with males. They simply eat them after mating, and only a few males manage to avoid the fate of becoming lunch. Females spend most of their time sitting on the web with their growing offspring and waiting for easy prey or a male, although they apparently do not distinguish prey well from males of their species. So, the female black widows wait on their web, while the males move around in search of their beloved for mating.

The approach of a male to a web with a female occurs with extreme caution. The initial sniffing of the edge of the web and observing the behavior of the hostess of the “lace” makes it clear whether she is ready for mating or not. Readiness to accept a male for mating is marked by the female creating certain vibrations distributed throughout the web.

But the name itself comes from the behavior of a hungry female, who can suddenly attack her partner and then eat him, without even waiting for mating. Such actions are also observed after fertilization, which caused hunger in the female. We can say that the color of the black widow emphasizes main role females

Having eaten, the female begins to weave a cocoon in which she lays eggs. She hides this cocoon in the shade, for example under a stone or a snag, or in a hole. The female is very aggressive in protecting her young and many bites occur due to people approaching the cocoon.

Black widow spider with cocoons and cubs.

Spiderlings usually hatch from eggs after three weeks. But mom doesn't feed them. They eat each other. Thus, only the strongest and most cruel children are selected from the cocoon. No more than 12 of these thugs survive in one clutch.

With age, the poisonousness of the black widow increases.

Black Widow(Latrodectus mactans) is deadly dangerous look spiders which densely populates North America and Australia.

More often than not, our fears of spiders are unfounded, but not in the case of the Black Widow. Among all the spiders on the planet, this species is the most poisonous.

Male black widows are not aggressive; most often, females bite people. The female is much larger than the male, the diameter of her body is 1 cm, but the length of her legs is up to 5 cm.

Black widow spider - description and photos

The body of the black widow is painted glossy black, and on the abdomen the spider has a characteristic red spot, shaped like an hourglass. Female black widows are extremely dangerous and aggressive, they will attack and bite their prey without warning! The slightest provocation or flick– and you are guaranteed a black widow bite. If poison enters the human body, it is necessary to immediately call an ambulance, because if this is not done in time, then death cannot be avoided.

A black widow's bite is deadly

The neurotoxin contained in black widow venom is 15 times stronger than poison rattlesnake. Black widow bite is accompanied by immediate acute pain at the site of the bite, and after some time (from 15 minutes to 1 hour) other symptoms begin to appear. First of all, this is severe pain in the abdominal area, due to which a black widow bite is often confused with an open ulcer, pancreatitis or other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The difference is that the pain does not increase with palpation. In addition to abdominal pain, pain and cramps begin in the limbs, the patient begins to rush around the bed and scream, breathing becomes difficult and difficult. In addition, nausea, severe headaches, salivation, severe sweating, hyperreflexia, hypertension, paresthesia of the extremities, and low fever may occur. With timely medical care, after 2-3 hours the pain subsides, but does not go away completely, and within a few days it can recur with new strength. Full recovery occurs only after a week. But bringing a patient to the hospital on time does not mean saving him; in children or elderly people, death often occurs due to cardiac or respiratory failure during the manifestation of the main symptoms.

Peak aggressiveness black widow spider falls between mid-April and October.

Adult male black widows are half the size of females and less dangerous, and the young of this species are born white or yellowish, and darken more with each molt until they reach sexual maturity and become glossy black.

Why is the spider called a black widow?

This species of spider received its name due to the cannibalism that the female exhibits towards the male immediately after fertilization.

During mating season the male, who has discovered the female’s lair, shows extreme caution when approaching his beloved’s web. The male literally “sniffs” the web, trying to understand how long ago the lady ate. If the female is hungry, then it is likely that the date will not even have time to begin, and the man will be eaten without having time to experience the pleasures of love.

If the female is ready for copulation, she will respond to the male's mating dances with a response vibration along the webs, and this will mean "welcome." However, if after mating the female suddenly becomes hungry, the male will be eaten without delay.

Not only females are distinguished by cannibalism: spiderlings, while in a cocoon, begin to eat each other, and in the end only from 1 to 12 babies hatch. The black widow's breeding season occurs at the end of summer - July-August. At this time, the female black widow is able to create 5-10 cocoons, in which she lays up to 600 eggs!

View: Black Widow Spider (Latrodectus)
Family: Web spiders
Squad: Spiders
Class: Arachnids
Type: Arthropods
Subtype: Cheliceraceae
Size: approximately 38 mm in length (feet - 12 mm), 6.4 mm in diameter
Weight: 1 gram
Lifespan: 1 - 3 years

The Black Widow got its name because the female often kills and eats the male, which explains his short term life. Scientists suggest that this is how females receive a ready source of protein that will be beneficial for their offspring. However, it is mostly observed in laboratory settings where the male is unable to escape.

Black Widow has unfairly earned a bad reputation. She only eats her husband when she mistakes him for food! Despite their fierce-sounding name, they are non-aggressive creatures, even shy ones. They rarely bite people. We are a much greater threat to them than they are to us. They have a quite romantic ritual: the male dances an amazing mating dance so that the female understands that he is not food.

Habitat

This type of spider is distributed throughout the world. They live in regions with temperate climates, incl. in the USA, Southern Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and most of South America. Can be found in dark, dry shelters, dimly lit areas such as barns, garages, basements, closets, hollow tree stumps, rodent holes, and dense vineyard vegetation. They strive to hide in warm dwellings in winter.

Although the black widow spider was not previously known in Russia, last years they were found in the Southern Urals and in the Rostov region. The migration is explained by an increase in air temperature.

Characteristic

Like all spiders, the black widow has 8 legs. Males and females are different. Females are twice as large, with shiny black organs and red markings in the shape of hourglass on the lower part of his round belly. The marking may also be orange-yellow. Males are paler, with red or pink spots on the back. Females are about 40 mm long with elongated legs, their black, spherical bellies are about 9-13 mm.

• The eggs are placed in greyish, silken balls 12 to 15 mm in diameter. The clutches contain from 200 to 900 eggs and are located in a web.
• The spiderlings are completely white at first. Then they become similar to adult spiders, although smaller in size. Photos of black widow spiders are easy to find in literature and the Internet.

• The black widow spider, the photo speaks of their danger, still has enemies. Wasps can sting and paralyze them, and they are also a favorite food of praying mantises. Some birds will eat them, but may end up getting an upset stomach from the poison. Bright red markings on the belly warn potential predators that the spider is a nasty meal.
• Black widows are solitary in nature. They communicate only during mating. They can sometimes be seen hanging upside down in a net, identified by the hourglass on their abdomen.
• The black widow contributes to the balance of the ecosystem by consuming insects such as mosquitoes and flies. It also controls crop pest populations by feeding on insect pests that destroy plants: locusts, grasshoppers, beetles and caterpillars.

Interesting! There are 31 species of Black Widow, including: Latrodectus hersperus (Western Black Widow), Latrodectus mactans (Southern Black Widow) and Latrodectus variolus (Northern Black Widow). There are also red widows and brown widows.

Black widow bite

The black widow spider, whose bite is dangerous and whose venom is 15 times stronger than that of a rattlesnake, fortunately rarely attacks people. Only when a person disturbs his peace. Only bites from females can be considered a threat to human health. And, contrary to popular belief, most victims do not suffer serious harm. Bites from this spider rarely lead to death. Risk group - children, old people, sick people.

After a bite, similar to a pin prick, the pain spreads throughout the body within a few minutes. The effects of a bite from one of the members of this genus depend on the species, but symptoms may include nausea, profuse sweating, severe abdominal and back pain, muscle pain, hypertension, and difficulty breathing. The pain lasts for 8-12 hours, and symptoms are felt for several days. It is advisable to use an antidote. Animals more often suffer from the bite of a male.

Nutrition

Like many spiders, the black widow eats other arachnids and insects that get caught in its webs. The female hangs upside down and waits for her prey. This posture displays bright markings that are a warning to potential predators that it is toxic. The markings, however, do not scare the prey.

The spider eats flies, mosquitoes, midges, beetles and caterpillars. Once prey is caught in the net, the black widow uses its comb-like legs to wrap the prey in silk. Then it pierces its victim with its fangs and injects digestive enzymes that liquefy the corpse. And sucks out the liquid.

Interesting! Like most spiders, the black widow can live for a long time without food. Specimens have been known to survive for almost a year in the absence of prey.

Life cycle

Eggs

A grayish silk ball of eggs with a funnel-shaped exit is attached to the web. Each female builds from 5 to 15 such balls, 12-15 mm in diameter, each of which contains from 200 to 900 eggs. These clutches are fiercely guarded by the mother until spiders emerge from them.

Spiders (babies)

Young spiders emerge from the ball after 10-30 days. Only a handful of them will survive, as black widows are cannibals in the early stages of their lives. They consume other spiders from their brood for nutrients.

The surviving spiderlings undergo molting. At first they are white, then orange, and only after a couple of months they resemble adult male black widows. Surviving individuals leave the network. It will take 2-3 months for them to mature, begin to weave their cloths and get food.

Interesting! Although the life expectancy of black widow spiders is one year, some female specimens live up to three years. Males are usually only 1-2 months old. These spiders live longer in captivity.

Some originals have all kinds of exotic animals at home and even try to breed them. Spiders were also among the chosen ones. In principle, keeping and feeding them is not difficult, there is a lot of information on the Internet, but getting offspring is already a problem.

As for the black widow, one of the most dangerous spiders in the world, experts categorically do not recommend keeping it at home and breeding it for non-professionals.

Chasing the exotic, you forget about the basic instinct of self-preservation. The result can be disastrous, because despite the shyness, 5% of attacks of such a pet end fatally.

Signs of presence

If you suddenly find a black widow’s web or the spider itself in your home or country house, be careful. Indoors, their webs can be removed with a vacuum cleaner. In fields, orchards and vegetable gardens where these spiders have become a problem, gloves should be worn as a precaution against bites. Spiders can be killed using a pesticide spray.

Black widows produce dirty, dense webs. Her canvases are usually located near ground level and under protected overhangs, such as under furniture or a wooden porch on stilts. Red hourglass markings will also indicate the presence of this species.

No, the black widow is not a woman dressed in dark, mourning clothes. The black widow spider is one of the most dangerous spiders in the world, numbering 30 species in its genus, devouring its partner after mating, and whose venom can kill a person or large animal.

What does danger look like?

These spiders were able to earn such a bad reputation not only because they are extremely poisonous. Small size (an adult grows only 2 centimeters in length), dim black color, and not very noticeable network of cobwebs - ideal camouflage. Long, paddle- or comb-like legs, with powerful bristles on the hind pairs of legs; the legs and cephalothorax have a shiny, smooth, one might say “varnished” appearance. appearance. Some individuals are completely black, others have multi-colored spots; the black widow itself has a red spot on its back, which is somewhat reminiscent of an hourglass. Females are more poisonous than males. Males, in principle, are less dangerous and active, with the exception of the mating season, when they begin to wander anywhere and everywhere, including living quarters. The black widow's web is not like the smooth and beautiful patterns of large spiders; it is horizontal, long, and completely chaotic.

Black widow lifestyle

The black widow is a small spider. However, the victims are disproportionately larger than himself.

Despite the impressive number of eyes, from 6 to 8, spiders see very poorly. The black widow perfectly senses the approach of an object with her body, using vibration, sometimes turning in the direction of movement and peering with two large, more with strong eyes. It lives in the steppes, ditches, ravines, on the ruins of abandoned villages, settling in cracks in the ground and trees, burrows of small rodents, and by the onset of cold weather they can move into living quarters, basements, cellars, which increases people's anxiety. But not for long, because at the end of October - beginning of November, adult spiders die from the cold, leaving the spiderlings in cocoons to wait for spring.

Reproduction and habitat

Despite all its poisonousness, the black widow never deliberately bites people. This is a defensive reaction to the danger that this small and insidious spider senses.

After mating, females of all black widow species bite off the head of their partners, which is why they received such an unusual name. Individuals are immune to their own poison, so females have no problems with poisoning from a partner. Then, at the end of summer, black widow spiders attach cocoons to the web, from which after 8 days small spiders hatch, which become independent only in spring.

Black widows are widespread throughout to the globe, but the main habitat is the desert Central Asia, there are many species in Africa and America, and representatives of the black widow are increasingly being noticed in different cities of the world, where they have never been seen before.

Favorite delicacy

Not only insects, but also more major representatives fauna can be found in a black widow's web, such as small lizards or grass snakes.

Black widow and man

An encounter with a black widow can turn out to be very, very sad for a person, because this species of spider was considered the most dangerous in the world until it was supplanted from first place by the Brazilian soldier spider. The venom of the black widow is 15 times more toxic than the venom of a rattlesnake, the bite is invisible externally, and the toxins of the venom quickly spread throughout the body. It is noteworthy that spiders do not attack themselves, only if they are in danger or if their web is disturbed.

At first the bite goes unnoticed. But soon necrosis of the tissues located at the site of the bite begins. If measures are not taken, death can occur within a few days.

A black widow bite can be fatal within a few days if you do not seek immediate help. You can save yourself from death if you cauterize the bite site within a few minutes, for example, with a just extinguished match head, after which you urgently need to go to the hospital.

The Karakurt (black widow), increasingly appearing in the central parts of Russia, has a bad reputation as the most poisonous of the class of arachnids. He and his fellow Black Widow brothers owe this reputation to their deadly bite, which is fifteen times more poisonous than a bite snakes. According to statistics, a person who is bitten by a spider of this genus may die within a few days.

The black widow is one of the most famous and poisonous spiders on our planet. Thirty-one spiders belong to the Black Widow genus, which is spread throughout the earth. Due to intrageneric crossings, mature individuals can have a black color with a characteristic shine. With their legs tucked in, they look very much like currants. Karakurt, translated from the Turkic language, means black insect. It is important to know what a black widow looks like, so that when you encounter a spider, you can take the tenth route around it.

Born spiders are about a millimeter in size and are colored brownish-gray. Instead of red dots, they have white dots and stripes. Immature spiders have an hourglass pattern on the underside of their abdomen, which disappears as they mature. They will acquire their characteristic color after the second molt.

The black widow is one of the most famous and poisonous spiders on our planet.

Before maturity, the female spider molts nine times, and the male seven. Therefore, the female has thirteen spots, and the male has four pairs of red marks. With age and molting, the color of females becomes black and only a spot resembling an hourglass shape remains, while the color of males almost does not fade. The size of the Black Widow spider depends on its age and variety.

The female Karakurt has a body size of up to two centimeters, the length of the legs is about five centimeters. She is three times larger than the male. The male is of average size, does not exceed seven millimeters. The body of Karakurts is black, dense, spherical, with red spots on the upper side of the abdomen. Sometimes there is a white border around the spots. Now you know what a black widow spider looks like and it will not be difficult to correctly identify a poisonous individual.

Habitats

Karakurt is a spider found on all continents except the Arctic and Antarctica. Recently, the Black Widow spider has chosen Russia as its habitat. They live in wormwood steppes and inhabit saline and virgin wastelands. They love dry and grassy slopes of ravines, abandoned villages, and courtyard buildings. They feel ideal where there are hot summers and warm autumns. Therefore, we can distinguish several habitats where the black widow lives:

1. In Kazakhstan, the spider inhabits steppe and saline zones.
2. In Uzbekistan, three species of karakurt have been recorded: Dahl's karakurt, Thirteen-pointed karakurt and White karakurt.
3. Crimea is its traditional habitat, and due to climate change and strong warming, its population has increased several times.
4. Türkiye, Iran and Afghanistan are the habitat of the black widow.
5. The Russian spider lives mainly in the southern regions, such as Rostov region, Krasnodar region and in areas bordering Kazakhstan this Southern Urals and Altai region.
6. The southern European individual keeps Spain, Portugal, France and Greece at bay.

Most poisonous species lives in North Africa and America. Its venom is fifteen times more toxic than that of a rattlesnake. The habitat of the Black Widow spider is constantly changing due to climatic conditions.

Having reached sexual maturity, males begin searching for a female. Having found it, it attracts attention to itself by touching the signal threads of the web with its paws. At the same time, he slowly approaches her. A frightened female can kill the spider. It is generally accepted that after mating, the female eats the male. This only happens if the female does not have enough weight at the time of fertilization. In other cases, the male stops eating after mating and dies. This happens regardless of where the Black Widow lives or what species it belongs to.

Now it’s clear why the Black Widow spider is called that. After fertilization, the female spider weaves spherical cocoons for the eggs. Nearby, to secure them, she places a fishing net. A week later, small karakurts hatch in the cocoon and live there until next year.

A year later, when the outside temperature is at least thirty degrees, the spiders emerge from the cocoon through a small hole. While in the cocoon, the karakurt babies have already moulted once. They weave disorderly webs, hunting insects in groups. During prolonged cold weather, spiders can spend up to three molts in the shell that protects them, feeding on weak individuals.

After fertilization, the female spider weaves spherical cocoons for eggs

A week after leaving the cocoon, their first migration begins. To do this, they climb to a height, release a web thread and fly in air currents. The need for migration among the Karakurts is laid down at an instinctive level. This is how they end up in central Russia, where, on the eve of cold weather, they can climb into people’s homes and hide in shoes, underwear and beds. This spider likes to spend the winter in cellars, sheds, and outdoor toilets.

Females are most poisonous in May-June. The venom of the karakurt spider is neurotropic. As a result, both a heart attack and respiratory arrest can occur. If a person is bitten by a female karakurt:

• At first there will be a slight burning sensation, which will intensify to severe pain within fifteen minutes.
• Redness or paleness of the face.
• Two hours later, abdominal pain and vomiting.
• Temperature increase.
• Joint and headache.
• Seizures and arrhythmia.

A bite from an adult sexually mature individual can be fatal

After 1-2 weeks, the pain subsides, but the consequences of the bite for six months resemble shortness of breath, dizziness and sudden fainting. A bite from an adult sexually mature individual can be fatal. Its poison is based on protein structure and if you burn this place with fire within two minutes after the bite, the protein will coagulate. However, to do this you need to know what a bite looks like.

What to do if you are bitten

A red spot appears at the site of the bite small size. This area swells a little and goes numb. After a couple of minutes everything disappears. The victim must be urgently taken to the hospital. To slow down the absorption of poison into the body you need to:

1. Apply ice to the bite site.
2. Restrict the victim's movement.
3. Transfer to a cool place.

Unfortunately, the bite is noticed too late. And the only antidote is anti-karakurt serum, which is very allergenic and can cause anaphylactic shock. Therefore, it is administered by specialists in a medical facility, while simultaneously administering anti-allergy medications. If you are bitten by a karakurt, you should never drink alcohol, because it increases blood circulation, and the poison will spread throughout the body faster. The Black Widow spider in Russia has recently significantly increased its numbers, so the number of victims has increased.

It is important to do some for residents of those regions where this type of spider is present in order to protect themselves from uninvited guests. It is better to play it safe and follow some rules to prevent an accidental bite, which can be fatal.

But there are living creatures that are not afraid of spiders. Steppe hedgehogs, the bats, bustards enjoy feasting on spiders. A single wasp paralyzes it and lays a larva inside it. The parasites lay larvae directly into cocoons. Crickets break open cocoons and feast on spiderlings.

In nature, there are spiders similar to karakurt, but completely harmless - these are false karakurt. They have a bright red stripe on their abdomen, glossy legs and there is always a web of dead insects around their den.