Southern Black Widow Spider

There are seven species of Black Widow spider, divided by geographic regions. The Southern Black Widow is well known for it's shiny black body with a red X or hourglass on the venter of the abdomen. Although there can be some variation in shades, those in the infestation I found were all very dark black. The body is 12-13 cm (1/2 inch) long with long front legs used for wrapping the prey in silk. As seen in photos #4-5, their web isn't exactly a work of art, but is very effective in catching unwary insects.