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plantfreak78 Rolesville, NC(Zone 7b) Jul 08, 2008

I found this in my backyard yesterday. It had the characteristic hodgepodgey, crackly sounding web but I'm not used to them having hairs on their abdomens. Plus the hourglass marking is not well defined and has an added spot on the end. I had an infestation of black widow spiders (or so I thought) at my old house so maybe this one came along when I moved. I don't like to kill anything, even a spider, unless it is dangerous so I want to be absolutely sure about the ID. (and yes I know that their toxicity is somewhat overblown but I'm not taking any chances)

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plantfreak78 Rolesville, NC(Zone 7b) Jul 08, 2008

The other side.

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plantfreak78 Rolesville, NC(Zone 7b) Jul 08, 2008

This is another spider that I found yesterday and it just confuses me more. It has red markings on its back (I didn't check for marks on its abdomen). It definitely has the same body type as a black widow so could it be related or just a juvenile?

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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Jul 08, 2008

These do indeed appear to be black widow spiders. The one with the dorsal spots likely is a southern black widow (Latrodectus mactans); see http://www.cirrusimage.com/spider_black_widow.htm

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plantfreak78 Rolesville, NC(Zone 7b) Jul 08, 2008

Thanks for the great link. I was afraid that's what they were. The only reason it concerns me is that I have dozens of spiders on my 1/3 acre lot that match those descriptions. I find at least two a day! And although I hate to kill spiders I can't have those gals lurking about the garden. Oh dear, how my karma will suffer :( Maybe if I'm extra nice to my wolf spiders it will all balance out...

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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Jul 08, 2008

Fortunately, they do not appear to be aggressive. I once accidentally poked my finger into a web (hidden under a door lock flap) containing an adult female, and she made no attempt to bite.

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