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Black Widow Spider

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There are three main species of black widow spider, all of which have very similar characteristics and inhabit areas in Northern America and parts of Mexico. Until very recently all three species of black widow spider were classified as one but recent research shows that as the species inhabit different areas, the three species of black widow spider have adapted to their environment in different ways.

The Northern black widow spider is primarily found in the north east of the USA and parts of south east Canada, although the range of the northern black widow spider overlaps with that of the western black widow spider a great deal.

The Western black widow spider inhabits areas of the western USA, Canada and parts of Mexico, although these western black widow spiders are often confused for the False black widow spider in Canada.

The Southern black widow spider is found throughout the states in south east America from Florida right up to New York, and are also found more west towards Texas and Arizona where the black widow spider is said to run rampant.

The black widow spider typically preys on a variety of insects, but occasionally they do feed upon woodlice and other arachnids. The black widow spider waits until prey has been trapped in its web before they quickly run out of their den, wrap it up and bite it. The venom from the bite of the black widow spider takes about ten minutes to take effect so the prey is held tightly by the spider. When the prey of the black widow spider has stopped moving, digestive enzymes are released into the wound where the black widow spider originally bit it. The black widow spider then carries its prey back to its retreat before feeding.

The black widow spider, although small, has extremely dangerous venom that is said to be more potent than the venom of a cobra. It is rare for a healthy human adult to be injected with a fatal dose of the venom from a black widow spider, and generally bites will result in a large swelling around the bite and will cause the human to experience nausea, muscle aches and breathing difficulties.

The greatest amount of human deaths by spider have been caused by the black widow spider, mainly due to the enormous geographical range that is inhabited by the black widow. These instances have dramatically increased with the development of antivenin and more effective plumbing in households.

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Black Widow Spider Translations

	Deutsch Echte Witwen
	English Black Widow spider
	Español Latrodectus

	Français Latrodectus
	Magyar Fekete özvegy
	Italiano Latrodectus

	Nederlands Weduwen
	Polski Latrodectus
	Português Viuva-negra

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Black Widow Spider Facts

Kingdom: A level of classifying all living things on earth, as similar species are broken into 5 groups including plants, animals and fungi....	Animalia
Phylum: A level of classifying animals within the animal kingdom. Phylum are further divided into subgroups called classes....	Arthropoda
Class: A level of classifying animals in a phylum. Classes are then sub-divided into further groups known as orders....	Arachnida
Order: A level used to classify animals. Classes are broken into sub-groups known as order, which are broken down further into families....	Araneae
Family: A level of classifying animals within an order. Orders are broken down in families and families are broken down further into smaller groups called genus....	Theridiidae
Genus: A level of classifying animals within a family. Families are divided into sub-groups called genus which generally contain one or two animal species....	Latrodectus

Common Name:	Black Widow Spider
Scientific Name:	Latrodectus
Found:	North America
Diet:	Carnivore
Size:	1.3cm - 3.8cm (0.5in - 1.5in)
Number of Species:	3
Average Lifespan:	3 years
Conservation Status: The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation s...	Least Concern

Colour:	Brown, Black, Red, Yellow
Skin Type:	Shell
Favourite Food:	Insects
Habitat: The term habitat is used to describe a specific area where a particular animal lives, within an environment. Many animals have adapted to requiring specific conditions which can only be found in their natural habitat su...	Urban, temperate forest and woodland
Average Litter Size:	250
Main Prey: When an animal is referred to prey, it means that the animal is either hunted or caught for food. Animals that are referred to as prey are generally hunted by bigger animals, although there are a number of exceptions....	Insects, Woodlice, Beetles
Predators: When an animal is referred to as a predator, it means that the animal either hunts or catches other animals. Predatory animals are generally dominant within their environment and will generally hunt animals smaller than...	Wasp, Birds, Small mammals
Distinctive Features:	Sharp fangs and shiny black and red body