Tag: black widow spider

side-by-side image of two spiders. at left, a brown widow, hanging vertically in webbing, showing its underside toward the viewer. the spider is dark brown to black in color, with an bright orange blotch on the bottom of its abdomen. at right is a black widow spider, hanging vertically on a stick, viewed from the side. the spider is dark black in color with a bright red splotch visible on the underside of its abdomen.

Brown Widow Spiders’ Aggression Likely Driver of Black Widow Decline

Black widow spiders have earned a fearsome reputation for their venomous bite. But in parts of the southern U.S. these spiders have much to fear themselves—from spider relatives who really don’t like their company. A new study shows that brown widow spiders, of a species in the same genus, have a striking propensity to seek out and kill nearby black widows.

Entomology Today March 14, 2023 Leave a Comment

Male Black Widow Spiders Destroy Females’ Webs to Deter Rivals

Male black widow spiders destroy large sections of the female’s web during courtship and wrap it up in their own silk. New research published in Animal Behaviour shows that this […]