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Northern Black Widow Spider - male

Latrodectus variolus

Photo by LisaPowers
Published on Project Noah
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35.9496, -87.3091

Field Notes

Description:

Black spider with yellow and red on the back of the abdomen.

Habitat:

Rural backyard on dill plant.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (7)
LisaPowers
carlamartinezgarcia, it is an adult male. The black widow male does not have the hourglass on the underside of the belly like the female. He does though have a coordinating dinner jacket with red/yellow spots. The males are venomous, but only about a third as toxic as the females.
carlamartinezgarcia
Now i see it on bugguide, and i got a doubt, are also the males as poison as females ? :), thanks for your help
LisaPowers
Awww! Thanks Carol! They are so black, it is hard to get any detail on the head. It was a difficult challenge.
Carol Snow Milne
Another great spider! Another great find! Another great photo!!
LisaPowers
Google the male southern black widow and it looks exactly like it!

Spotted for Missions

Mission
International Spider Survey
Mission
Spiders of Tennessee
Mission
Fauna and Flora of Froghaven Farm
Mission
National Geographic's Great Nature Project
Mission
The Bug Chicks Sofa Safari
Photographed
PublishedJune 13, 2013

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