Southern black widow (female)

The mature female is around 1.5 inches long and 0.25 inches in diameter.She is shiny and black in color, with a red marking in the shape of an hourglass on the ventral (under) side of her very rounded abdomen. There is much variation in female size, particularly in egg-carrying (gravid) females. The abdomen of a gravid female can be more than 0.5 inches in diameter. Many female widows also have an orange or red patch just above the spinnerets on the top of the abdomen.