Big "Black Widow" today

[Tnmountains]

From my yard. iPhone picture. 'Latrodectus"

 

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[JrMack]

very rare up here in NY! wouldn't want to mess with that thing! rattlers OK but no Spiders! LOL

 

[ARC]

Sheesh how big is that thing ?
Looks massive in pic...
And I thought I saw the record sized one years ago in buddies yard.

 

[kingskid1611]

was bit by two of them last summer. they isn't fun.

 

[DirtStalker]

Not a rarity around here. That's a nice BIG one

 

[BosnMate]

We have them, but not real common.

 

[BosnMate]

This is from a friend down in southern CA. That's not a cow pie in the flowers. Hard to see, but it's a rattler.

 

[Tnmountains]

Sheesh how big is that thing ?
Looks massive in pic...
And I thought I saw the record sized one years ago in buddies yard.

And because I knew I might post it here. Here is a picture for size reference haha. They say the venom is 15 times stronger than a Rattler




This spider's bite is much feared because its venom is reported to be 15 times stronger than a rattlesnake's. In humans, bites produce muscle aches, nausea, and a paralysis of the diaphragm that can make breathing difficult; however, contrary to popular belief, most people who are bitten suffer no serious damage—let alone death. But bites can be fatal—usually to small children, the elderly, or the infirm.

Black Widow Spiders, Black Widow Spider Pictures, Black Widow Spider Facts - National Geographic

 

[austin]

Yuck, I sure hope that it's an ex spider now...

 

[packerbacker]

They are very common around here and they get into everything from wood piles, under car hoods, lawn mowers and any dark corner. I'm very surprised that more folks aren't bitten. I hate to kill anything I'm not going to eat but a widow on my turf is a gonner!

 

[diverrick]

Me too! Those that I find are goners, but not until after I torture them some. I shot one once with brake cleaner, thought it was dead, came back a couple hours later and it was just fine. Shot it then with carb cleaner and once again thought it was dead. After I found it alive again, I simply smushed it. I hate those things. They like our airplane hangars. You need to be very careful when picking anything up. They really like the inside of stored tires. Not to big a deal here at my ranch, but the hangar is crazy with them. Around brakes, tires parts, Etc. they get everywhere. I look for the webs and try to find them and dispatch them ASAP Problem is a guy across the way seems to not be bothered by them and lets them live and breed at will in his hangar. I offered to gas his hangar on my tab just to be rid of them, he declined. He will get bit some day and maybe change his tune. Right now, they don't seem to bother him any, and not bothered that he impacts all the rest of us. I hope to never find one crawling on me when I am flying. Talk about snakes on planes. Black Widows on planes is scarier to me. Snakes and hornets I could live with.

 

[Tnmountains]

Yes I did kill it as it was full of eggs. We have those and the fiddle backs or brown recluse. The worst though to me is the Saddle back caterpillar (stinging hair). One got down my shirt and it looked like I was hit with a blow torch.

I had picked up the rock moving it and just happened to look under it and saw this spider. Not scared of them but very respectful.Thought it was worth a pic.

 

[ARC]

Sheesh that is a big one...
We have a certain type of black widow with striped legs here...
they are only found in central florida... I THINK...
Anyway...
They are friggin everwhere.


AHhhh...
"How to identify (and misidentify) Brown Widow The brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus, is not native to the United States. For decades, it lived only in peninsular Florida in the U.S. but in the first decade of the 21st century, it spread remarkably quickly, is now found from Texas to South Carolina and is well established in the urban areas of Los Angeles, San Diego and surrounding suburbs. In the western United States, accurate identification of this spider can be difficult. The brown widow is a tan spider with a series of white stripes. Unfortunately, immatures of the native black widow spider, Latrodectus hesperus, also are tan with white stripes and are frequently mistaken for brown widows. There is TREMENDOUS variation for both of these species as they grow from babies to adults. In order to master identifying them, many specimens need to be examined. Below is a pictorial comparison of the two species with ways to differentiate between them. Many people send in orb weavers orb weavers of the genera Neoscona and Araneus. Orb weavers have spines on thier legs, widow spiders have no spines. Please check the internet to identify orb weavers to reduce the chance of miss identification.

 

[Red_desert]

I like the first pic, looks like a red hour glass shape on it. I've never seen any up here. Mom got bit by a Black Widow spider when she was young. I've never seen a Brown recluse in my area, but my cousin ended up in the hospital from a brown spider bite about 3 years ago. I've heard of so many people who at one time were in the hospital for a spider bite. The experts say it definitely is not a Brown recluse spider. The only possibility is a close cousin of the Sydney Funnel-web. The difference between it and a Brown Recluse is a chartreuse Katydid instead of a fiddle. Two know varieties of the spider, we have the one with a far more toxic venom. It's not native to the US, got here on a boat many years ago.

The ankle wound is when my mother got bit by one back in probably was 2008. Months later the sore became nearly large enough to hold a quarter.

 

[BigWaveDave]

Thanks for sharing a pic of a festering sore...made my nite.

 

[curious kat]

Yikes Tn.....that's a Big one! We have LOTS of those around here. Have to be sure and check the water boots before putting them on, found one in there once. Nice to see you posting some pictures, maybe next time a cute little bunny?

 

[DizzyDigger]

Bos'n..you live in the Mojave? Looks like a Mojave Green to me.
Nasty snakes they are!

TN..the only good Black Widow is a dead one...

No rattlers or widows in my area...just the Brown Recluse, and
they bite quite a few people every year.

 

[BosnMate]

Bos'n..you live in the Mojave? Looks like a Mojave Green to me.
Nasty snakes they are!

I live in Oregon. You have a good eye, a friend lives in Mojave. He retired from the Weapons Survivability Test facility. I was jealous of his job, he got paid to scientifically blow stuff up. He now lives in Ridgecrest, and the snake was in his yard. He emailed me the picture.

 

[Slingshot]

Wow, that's a big one! I've only seen one other that might have been of similar size, most are a lot smaller. Brown Recluses here, I had 8 bites last year, and almost lost a toe to one that was evidently hiding in my shoe. Got bit 5 times on my back several weeks ago by one that was in a shirt I put on without shaking it out. I shake out everything now before I put it on and think I am building up some resistance to that particular poison. Cheers!!

 

[RGINN]

Haven't seen those here at this altitude, or fiddlebacks either, which I fear more. Still, I have the habit of shaking out my sleeping bag before goin to bed and shakin out my boots before putting them on. (Camping tip: Sleep with your boots in your sleepin bag or inside your tent up here cause we have porcupines and they will chew them up for the salt, if they can get to em.)