ECO-POSTCARDS
What is it?
Black Widow Spider. Kingdom: Animalia. Phylum: arthopoda. Class: Arachnida. Order: Aranea. Infraorder: Aradeomorphae. Family: Theridiidae. Genus: Latrodectus. Species: Latroducetus mactans.
Black Widows are 1.5 inches long, and 0.25 inches across. They can be around 0.035 ounces. There is a hourglass on their abdomen that they can be identified by. It can be found in the southestern United States. (Ranging as far from Ohio and Texas.)
HOW DOES IT LIVE?
Describe life cycle, food resources, habitat. The average life cycle of a Black Widow is from 1 to 3 years long. A Black Widows mating ritual is sometimes dangerous: a female Black Widow may eat a male spider after mating. A female black widow spider may produce four to nice egg sacs in one summer. Each one can contain about 100-400 eggs. They incubate for about twenty to thirty days. However only a hundred may survive, and thirty will survive molting because of other factors. (Cannabilism, lack of food, or lack of shelter.) It takes six to nine months to fully mature. Females can live up to three years, and males can live to three to four months.
WHAT DOES IT DO?
The Black Widow spins large webs which wherein they catch their prey and lay their eggs. Their most striking feature is a red hourglass on their abdomen. Their venom is also incredibly venomous. It is reported to be 15 times stronger than a rattlesnake. However, the spider usually only bite in self-defense.
Why Is It Important?
Black Widows are important because they are the natural predators of many insect species, so they have keep the insect population down. Black Widow’s prey on other insects. For example, fire ants, woodlice, centipedes, millipedes, and occasionally other arachnids. Its web is strong enough to catch mice, and other large species. One of the Black Widows predators are wasps (blue mud dauber) and the spider wasp. Other species will occasionally eat the Widow as prey including Mantis and the Centipede.
SOURCES
Sources
“Black Widow Spider | Black Widow Description | Black Widow Bite | DesertUSA.” Black Widow Spider, Desert USA, www.desertusa.com/insects/black-widow-spider.html. Accessed 19 Sept. 2020.
“Black Widow Spiders.” National Geographic, www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/group/black-widow-spiders/#:%7E:text=Black%20widows%20are%20notorious%20spiders,temperate%20regions%20around%20the%20world.&text=This%20spider’s%20bite%20is%20much,times%20stronger%20than%20a%20rattlesnake’s. Accessed 16 Sept. 2020.
Mickens, R. A western black widow, Latrodectus Hesperus. Live Science.Com. Photograph. Accessed 16 Sept 2020.
Sartore, Joel. A southern black widow (Latrodectus mactans). Audobon Nature Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana. National Geographic. Photograph. Accessed 12 Sept 2020.
Szalay, Jessie. “Black Widow Spider Facts.” Live Science, Future US, 30 Oct. 2014, www.livescience.com/39919-black-widow-spiders.html.
Sartore, Joel. A southern black widow (Latrodectus mactans). Audobon Nature Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana. National Geographic. Photograph. Accessed 12 Sept 2020.
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