black and red spider
Location: North East USA
October 25, 2010 8:18 pm
Dear Bugman, I beg of your help. I am finding these red and black spiders (i believe) in the house. I live in CT. These bugs are so tiny maybe the size of a grain of rice. The first thing you notice is a little glossy redish black ball. I only find them on the rugs, havent seen them elsewhere. I have two new babies and I am soooooo scared. I dont have a camera to take a picture but I pray you can still help us.
I provided a picture of the closet spider i can find, this resembles the body structure but not the color or size.
Signature: BR
Redback Spider
Dear BR,
You do have some cause for concern if your creatures are the same as the one in the photo, though we have our doubts since you did not provide your own photograph. This is an immature Black Widow. Black Widows are one of only a few North American spiders with a dangerously venomous bite, and young children would be more severely affected by a bite than a healthy adult would. Again, we really doubt that the creatures you have found are Black Widows.
Ed. Note: It has been brought to our attention in a comment that the spider in the photo is most probably not a North American species, but a mature Redback Spider from Australia, which is why the location in which a creature is encountered is often critical information for proper identification.
i cannot thank you enough for you quick response, I dont believe they are either. The structure is similar but they carry a little ball like on them it allmost looks like a bead, if i look at it very close its a maroonish dark red color. We have recently discovered we have carpet beetles and i dont know if this may be related, again we find these spiders on the rug and between the rug and wall. any other advice would kindly be appreciated i will try to get a picture to you as soon as i can, you are all wonderful people for doing this for others. thank you again
2
Black Widows
July 16, 2010
Location: Tx & Ar
I’m wondering if there is a season for Black Widows, the first pic I’m attaching is from Heartland, TX (SE of Dallas) 7/3/2010 & the second is from Little Rock, AR 7/16/2010, just seems to be that we’re seeing a more than usual. I say that but I’ve never seen one before a couple of weeks ago!
Thanks, Lisa
Black Widow
Hi Lisa,
In warmer climates, Black Widows can be found year round, but sightings will probably be more common during the warmer months when the spiders are more active. Mature females will probably be most common toward the end of summer and into autumn. The specimen for Arkansas is not mature. The coloration of a mature spider does not contain the red markings on the dorsal surface. Though these sightings were in southern states, we believe both are the Northern Black Widow, Latrodectus variolus. Your photo of the immature specimen matches an image of the Northern Black Widow posted to BugGuide.
Immature Black Widow
5
¶ Posted 17 July 2010 § ‡ ° White spider with hour-glass dots on back
March 15, 2010
Found on a dead rabbit, amid the fluff of it’s shed fur. The rabbit had been under an old tin bucket and when I lifted it up, this spider was on the fur.
Colleen
Albuquerque, NM
Immature Black Widow Spider
Hi Colleen,
This is an immature Black Widow, probably a Western Black Widow, Latrodectus hesperus. The immature spiders often have patterns on the back which become a solid glossy black as the spider matures.
2
¶ Posted 16 March 2010 § ‡ ° Trying to identify this spider.
February 28, 2010
I’ve got this great picture my brother took. We’re trying to identify it. Can you give me any information. Is it poisonous?
Renee
Southern California
Immature Black Widow
Hi Renee,
This is an immature Black Widow, and you probably know that the bite can be dangerous. The female’s venom may cause a poisonous reaction. BugGuide has much information on the Widow Spiders in the genus Latrodectus, and there are numerous images that show these markings on the immature specimens.
2
¶ Posted 01 March 2010 § ‡ ° Big moth and black widow
August 14, 2009
My son and I had a Discovery Channel moment leaving the post office yesterday. This moth was alive, and the spider was working very hard to wrap it up. It would climb up, drop a line down, throw a couple of legs over the moth, go over to the other wing, and repeat. The moth was fluttering but losing the battle.
We couldn’t believe this was right in the middle of the sidewalk (yes, there was a brick column in the *middle* of the sidewalk) at the entrance to a busy post office in the middle of the day!
I was going to take video but could only manage a quick cell phone photo before a well-meaning man came up and stomped the spider.
I think this is a real black widow, but I’m having trouble positively identifying the moth. We see them all the time here in Georgia – as the summer progresses, the moths get bigger.
Can you help?
Patty and Gabriel
Powder Springs, Georgia
Black Widow captures Regal Moth
Hi Patty and Gabriel,
We are sorry to hear that this shy and retiring, though poisonous Black Widow was stomped before getting to enjoy its gargantuan meal. The moth is a very bedraggled Regal Moth or Royal Walnut Moth. Its appearance indicates that it was already at the end of its short adult life. Regal Moths do not feed as adults, and only fly long enough to mate and lay eggs, and possibly, like this specimen, provide a nutritious meal to a lucky predator.
Orb Weaver with Skink Pt2
July 24, 2009
I sent two images earlier today and got one more of the same unknown orb weaver with her skink. By now he’s collapsing on himself from her nonstop feast. As my son said, “Cool. Spiders are like vampires!”
Resa in Atlanta
Atlanta, GA
Common House Spider eats Skink
Uknown Spider Feasting on Lizard
July 24, 2009
Saw this unknown spider had caught a baby skink it its web last night. I tried to get a decent night shot as the spider was biting the skink’s tail. The poor little lizard was twisitng fruitlessly. This morning the spider had turned the now dead skink and was working on it’s face. My kids enjoyed seeing the circle of life in action. I hope you enjoy the shots as well.
Resa in Atlanta
Atlanta, GA
Common House Spider eats Skink
Hi Resa,
We are thrilled to be able to post your awesome documentation, though we have a certain fondness for lizards. We do really hate those television commercials with the animated gecko though. Your spider is not an Orbweaver, but rather a Cobweb Spider. We believe it is the highly variable Common House Spider, Parasteatoda tepidariorum, based on images posted to BugGuide. Spiders are able to incapacitate much larger prey when the prey becomes entangled in the web. We have photos in our archive of a Golden Orb Weaver feeding on a Hummingbird and we have linked to an image of a Golden Silk Spider eating a Finch.
Common House Spider eats Skink
Great Site for Science Students
Wed, Jul 8, 2009 at 4:43 PM
Hi Bugman,
I’m a sixth grade science teacher and I wanted to say how helpful your site is when teaching my students about helpful and harmful insects, arachnids, and other creatures. Students love the pictures and they often have good discussions about the bugs I show them. Your site is useful in helping students to identify before they kill bugs. Thanks for providing a great site. It’s great to show my students great pictures. You are appreciated!
C.G
Science Teacher
Florida
P.S.
I have enclosed a photo of a brown widow that I necessarily had to carnage on my front porch. It had nested under a chair on my front porch.
Brown Widow
Dear C.G,
Thank you so much for your kind letter. It is with trepidation that we are NOT tagging your letter as Unnecessary Carnage, and we feel many of our readership will disagree. Your justifiably dispatched photo of a Brown Widow doused with insecticide nicely shows the typical orange coloration of the hourglass and the striped legs. According to BugGuide the Brown Widow has a distribution: “World wide in the tropical zone. It was introduced in Florida and has since been observed moving north through Georgia, and into South Carolina; it has also been officially recorded in California, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. Habitat Found around buildings in tropical climates. (1)However, it is an introduced species and is the most human-adapted of the species occurring in the South Eastern US. Its webs may occur anywhere there is sufficient space to make one. It may be extremely abundant on houses and other man-made structures (e.g., barns, fences, guard rails, bridges). It reproduces frequently and disperses rapidly, making it nearly impossible to control.” Since it is an introduced species, we will be tagging it as an Invasive Exotic.
Dear Bug Man,
We found this on the front door of our home in Byron, Georgia. Is it a Black Widow and is it poisonous? Thank you,
Denise West
Hi Denise
Despite originating in Georgia, this looks like a Male Northern Widow, Latrodectus variolus. There is a wonderful image that matches yours on BugGuide. From what we understand, only the female Black Widow has a dangerous bite.
¶ Posted 05 May 2008 § ‡ ° 
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