I am curious. I have a spider living outside my kitchen window. I have named her Betty. :o)
Anyway, Betty looks to me like a black widow spider but I thought Black Widow spiders lived in dank, dark spots. AND...while she does have a red (what appears to be) hourglass shape in her middle...she's not BLACK and her abdomen is not ROUND like I thought it should be.
Below is a photo of Betty. Any information would be appreciated.
Here is another photo of Betty.
Well until suunto gets here, I'll say it's definitely a black or brown widow, one of the Latrodectus species.
http://sarasota.extension.ufl.edu/IPM/BrownWidow.htm
My guess would be yes.
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Thank you for your replies. Is she very dangerous outside?
In reading from the link you posted I am a little conflicted with what should be done about her, if anything.
I have a HUGE fear or "freak" of spiders but for some reason she does not bother me at all. :o)
Immature black widow spiders can have dorsal abdominal markings that differ quite a bit from that of mature females. That aside, I believe that 'Betty' more likely is a brown widow than a black widow spider. If she constructs an egg case, you will be able to tell for certain, as brown widows construct an egg case having a 'spiky' appearance (see http://tinyurl.com/l9dy7g), whereas those of black widows have a smooth surface. There seems to be a bit of conflicting information on the web re: the danger this spider poses. The consensus seems that although it has very potent venom, it may not inject very much, and that the medical consequences of its bite are less severe than those of a black widow bite. Nevertheless, I would not go out of my way to be bitten by one.
Understand, she doesn't bother. Leave her be, relocate, or seal her demise?
Depends on your tolerance level. If you don't have small, curious children that might poke at her, you could leave her be until she constructs an egg sac and you know her identity for sure, then relocate her (and egg sac) to a safe place away from human habitation.
Strange you mention eggs. We noticed her about 2 and a half weeks ago. She had two babies in her web with her. As of last week they are gone and she is still there. Is that common? Might she produce additional young?
We have no small children and the window is about 5 feet above the ground so assume her "nest" is close to 6 feet above ground. We have a cat that used to sit on the window ledge but since we moved the trash can she can't jump that high.
Below is an expanded view of the first photo which shows her young.
And thanks for everyone's replies! You guys are great.
Brown Widow. We have lots. Unlike Black Widows, Brown Widows can vary greatly in colors and are not usually solid brown. But, the red hourglass gives them away.
Brown widows are not as agressive as their black relative. However, their venom is considered more poisonous.
I have some very neat pics of our brown widow when we first learned about them.
I doubt that those are her young - they more likely are males (which are much smaller than the female) hoping for a chance to mate.
