Thread: Brown Widow

I discovered this brown widow at a convenience store yesterday. This is only the second one that I have ever seen.

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Its a black widow. sometimes they just come out looking like that. kind of like some of us. L.O.L. Odd colors like that will tell you not to mess with it. that little sucker bites.


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Ron

It looks like a male comb-footed spider (family Theridiidae). Some of them are called false widow spiders.

The male black widow is usually much smaller than the "black widow". The male has very thin legs and a very small abdomen.

Here is a picture and a female and a male.

rick

Sorry about that, here is the pics.

rick

Originally Posted by Ron Bibler

Its a black widow. . . . .


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Ron

Nope. Brown widow. See Brown Widow Spiders article at University of Florida Extension, Sarasota County

Originally Posted by Bob White

Nope. Brown widow. See Brown Widow Spiders article at University of Florida Extension, Sarasota County

I took one of those and put it in a jar. It turned shiny black. The folks I gave it to called someone about identification but no one had an answer to the color change. That particular black widow was the largest I had ever seen. I don't know if a bite from a huge black widow would be any worse than a smaller female but I would not want to be the one to find out.

One distinctive way to tell the difference are those spiny egg sacks.

It is a brown widow. There is such a species (or sub species). Georgia Outdoor News recently did an article on them. I beleive Jerry is right about the spiney egg sacks. The egg sack that I have seen with a black widow have not been spiney, and I do not recall their being more than one.

The location of the web is another difference. All of the black widows i have ever found were in dark concealed locations, such as insdie crawlspace doors, under metal roof panels on the ground, under vinyl siding, etc. This brown widow was in the corner of a store window. The other one that I found was in a web stretched between two bushes on a vacant lot.

I know it's a while back......but did you squish it?

Bill

Spiders are beneficial and should not be "squashed". They help rid of other pests.

Rick

Originally Posted by Rick Hurst

Spiders are beneficial and should not be "squashed". They help rid of other pests.

Rick

you're right....they should be squished.

i agree mostly about spiders, but i kinda draw the line at poisonous ones. safety issue no?