gold black widow???
Location: fontana, CA(50 miles from the coast, east of Los Ageles)
November 28, 2011 8:04 pm
Hello bugman,
I found this spider in my property it is the second one I’ve found. I did some research and it apears it might be an African species, it was hidding in a funnel like web, its cream color, and the hour glass underneath appears to be orange in color. Can you correct me in my identification? or did I got it rigth?
Signature: bajaboy28

Brown Widow

Dear bajaboy28,
You are correct.  This is a Brown Widow, Latrodectus geometricus, a species native to Africa that has become naturalized in much of the southern portion of the United States.  According to BugGuide:  “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.”  BugGuide indicates this about the bite:  “It is recognized that this particular species of widow is most likely not medically significant (not an immediate medical concern to those who are bitten). (Net Ref (4)) The brown widow produces clinical effects similar to that of the black widow but the typical symptoms and signs being milder and tending to be restricted to the bite site and surrounding tissues.”