Photo taken in San Angelo, Texas by Lauren Randolph.
The Black Widow Spider gets its name from a belief that the female eats the male after mating – a phenomenon which rarely happens. Coloring is typically black with 2 reddish triangular markings usually joined to form a reddish hourglass shaped marking. These spiders spin an irregular web and suspend themselves from it in an inverted or upside-down position. The web is used to catch its prey. Poisonous bites do occur with only the females being of concern. The venom is a neurotoxin. The female is generally shy but will attack aggressively after she lays her eggs in defense of guarding them. On the exterior of structures, Black Widows normally live in protected places around and under stacks of firewood, stones, beneath wooden decks and in hollowed tree stumps. In interior of structures, they usually harborage in seldom used parts of garages and in crawl spaces, preferring the more cluttered areas because they provide better places for which to catch their prey, primarily insects.
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