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Black Widow

December 8, 2014

Appearance

Female

  • Most easily recognized.
  • Shiny black body
  • Red mark shaped like an hourglass on her round abdomen

Male

  • Harmless
  • Half the female’s size
  • Bands and spots of yellow and red on their backs
  • Legs are much longer in proportion to his body than that of the female (approximately twice his body size)

Where Found

  • North America

Characteristics

  • Not usually deadly to adults since amount of venom injected is so small
  • Will try to escape before biting
  • Aggressive when guarding an egg mass or if cornered and pressed
  • After mating, the female sometimes eats the male, earning the name “widow”

Contact Us

Contact us for help with a Black Widow Spider problem. You may also call either our Central Coast office or our Ventura County office.

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